


Ode To Kiyohime

by bisexualyoda



Series: Tales from The Avatar Agency [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A very Happy ending, Angst, Azula goes to therapy, Emotional Abuse, F/F, Flashbacks, Fluffy, Healing, Healing Sex, Male OC - Freeform, Marriage Proposal, Praise Kink, Smut, also very cute, azula is sad, hopefully you won't cry reading this, i'm never very good at measuring angst, it's so gay, kinda a lot of angst, life decisions are made, ty-lee wants her to be happy, what is 'a lot' of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26604109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualyoda/pseuds/bisexualyoda
Summary: It's been six long months since Azula and Ty-Lee graduated from the Avatar Academy and entered full-time employment. They're twenty-one, Ty-Lee works away from home, but they still make time for one another.The future for Azula, however, is unclear, and it blends uncomfortably with her past in the Fire Nation.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: Tales from The Avatar Agency [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935352
Comments: 31
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is attached to my biggest work, [When Language Fails](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560845/chapters/59313433), however you can read this on it's own, if you just really love Tyzula!! if you are doing this, just know that the worlds of lok and atla are crossed here.
> 
> The title comes from the Japanese folk tale 'Kiyohime', which is incorporated into the story (so you don't have to google it!). This story focusses a lot on Azula's toxic upbringing, and eventually her getting the help she needs, all with the support of her loving girlfriend Ty-Lee :)
> 
> ( oh, and there miiiiiiiiiiight be a wedding :p )
> 
> \- yoda
> 
> [my tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bisexualyoda1)

**_July_ **

****

_“Zuko! Zuko, come play with me!” Azula giggled, tugging at her brother’s silken sleeve. The seven-year-old turned to his little sister and sighed, a look far beyond his years in his golden eyes._

_“I can’t. Dad wants to see me.” Zuko said. Azula noticed the nervousness in his voice, though she did not understand it. “Maybe Mama will play with you, Azula?”_

_Azula pouted. Her mother never played with her. Not like how she played with Zuko, with the same happy smile and bouncing hands. Azula didn’t mind not being the favourite child, since Zuko was a great big brother and he deserved that love, but it made situations like this difficult, when she had nobody else to play with._

_She traipsed up to her bedroom, laying down in the bed that was far too large for her. Instead of playing with an unwanted partner, she would much rather take an early afternoon nap, in the hopes her mother wouldn’t come looking for her. Her father had insisted on king-sized beds for everyone, even the children. The sheets were creamy, and reminded her of custard. She could probably fall asleep despite her lack of fatigue, if she tried hard enough, which would be better than doing nothing._

_“Azula?” Her mother’s voice made her open her eyes._

_She sat up, propping herself up with her elbows and looking over to the door of her bedroom. Her mother was peering through the frame, long dark hair pulled back, making her cheek bones sever under her eyes. Nevertheless, her face seemed kinder than usual._

_Was she in trouble?_

_“Yes, Mama?” Azula said, bounding to her feet. “Zuko is in a meeting with Dad. I’m just sleeping.”_

_“It’s too early to sleep.” Her mother ushered her upwards. “Your friends have come to visit you. Isn’t that nice?”_

_“Mai and Ty-Lee are here!” Azula grinned, running to meet her mother at the door. Her mother held her daughter’s face in her hands for a moment, scrutinising the expression there. Black eyes met gold, darkening even further so._

_She never liked when her mother did this; she did not know what her mother was searching for. Azula squirmed, trying to find her friends._

_Finally, her mother let her go and let out a long sigh. Azula began running to the entrance of the palace, and when she saw that her friends really were there, that it wasn’t some cruel trick of the light, she jumped mid-run._

_Ty-Lee smiled widely, and ran to meet Azula. The two hugged, and Azula remembered how her friend always smelled like flowers. She liked that a lot, and it always made her wonder what she smelled like._

_“Hey Ty-Lee.” She beamed._

_“Hi!” Her friend grinned back._

_“Woah! You lost a tooth!” Azula peered into Ty-Lee’s open mouth, inspecting the empty space where her incisor had once been. She put her finger in the gap, touching the gum. “Ew!”_

_“Mhm, and the tooth fairy gave me ten yuan.”_

_“There’s no such thing as the tooth fairy.” Mai drawled._

_Azula shot Mai a look, as if it say ‘shut up’. Mai could be such a party-pooper._

_“Sure there is.” She smiled, turning back to Ty-Lee. Azula knew there wasn’t a tooth fairy._

_She lost her first tooth, and decided not to tell anyone so as to test the existence of such a being. When the tooth was still there the next day, she’d realised it was all a ruse. Naturally, she’d confronted her mother, who somehow managed to blame Azula for not telling her she’d lost a tooth, so she couldn’t ‘inform’ the tooth fairy. How was she meant to believe that?_

_Seriously, that lady made no sense to her at all._

_“Do you want to come play in the gardens?” Azula asked, and both the girls nodded._

_“Is Zuko here?” Mai asked on the way._

_“He’s in a meeting with my dad.”_

_“It’s sooooo cool that your dad is the fire lord.” Ty-Lee gushed. “I bet he’s super serious and scary.” She pulled a face, using her fingers to imitate a long beard, her eyebrows drawn and sharp._

_Azula shook her head with a laugh. “Not with me. He reads me all these stories, and shows me firebending stances. He’s super cool.”_

_They arrived in the first garden, and all three girls were immediately distracted by the turtle ducks. The mother duck had had three babies during that Spring, and Zuko had been carefully taking care of them. Azula liked to throw rocks at them, but she had to make sure her mother never saw. Not again. She’d got in so much trouble the first time._

_Azula furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about that. She really did make her mom mad a lot, huh?_

_“Azula, look!” Ty-Lee squealed. The turtle duckling was crawling in her arms. “It’s so cute.”_

_Azula picked it up and placed it gently on the ground._

_“You probably shouldn’t hold them.” She told Ty-Lee. “You might catch rabies.”_

_Ty-Lee barely acknowledged what she said, kneeling and cooing at the duckling. Azula watched her friend with interest. Ty-Lee wasn’t like Azula. Azula spent her time reading about the past, or playing firebender soldier; Ty-Lee spent her time braiding her own hair and dancing. Azula was serious in school, and was always top of their class, and Ty-Lee was consistently at the bottom, the only class she could do well being gym._

_But Azula still liked her a lot. She liked how innocent she was. Azula didn’t much like the girls in her class, and most of them didn’t like her, but Ty-Lee always sat with her. Azula liked that. She liked how Ty-Lee cried easily at the smallest of things, and would laugh all the time at just about everything. She was nothing at all like Azula, which she liked._

_You would think that her laughing at everything made it less special for Azula, when Ty-Lee laughed at her jokes, but it didn’t. Not when Ty-Lee’s laugh was the most infectious sound in the world._

_Even Mai, who was often miserable, even at the ripe age of six, would laugh when Ty-Lee laughed._

_The three girls played in the gardens until it was evening. Her mother came outside, telling the other two girls that their carriages were there, and they would be going home for dinner. Azula begged to let them sleep over, but her mother said no._

_“Your father will want the house quiet tonight. It was an important meeting and he needs to rest.”_

_“So, he won’t read me to sleep?” Azula asked._

_Her mother sighed. “No, Azula, he won’t read you to sleep.”_

_She sniffed. “Why not?”_

_“Because he’s busy.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because he’s the fire lord, Azula, you know this.”_

_“But why?”_

_“For goodness sake.” Her mother rolled her eyes, stooping down to pick Azula up. Azula didn’t like being picked up, and she was getting much too big for it, so she pushed and pulled in her mother’s grip._

_“Put me down!” She moaned._

_“I’m giving you to one of the maid’s so you can bathe before dinner.” Her mother said impatiently, walking across the gardens to the other side of the house. “Don’t set anything on fire.”_

_“I don’t do it on purpose.” Azula mumbled, but if her mother heard her, she pretended not to._

_She didn’t fight too much when given to the maid. The maid didn’t coddle her. She let her walk around on her own two feet, and let her wash herself, which was greatly appreciated. They ate dinner quietly, Zuko and Ozai still nowhere to be seen._

_Azula didn’t like speaking to her mother. She always ended up in trouble, and she never knew why._

_They’d nearly finished eating when her father and brother came into view, lumbering in together from the cold and dark night._

_“Zuzu! Dad!” She cried, jumping down from the table. Her mother called out for her to come back, but she ignored her. She leapt into her father’s arms, and he smiled, holding her easily._

_It was okay when he held her._

_“Hello, daughter.” He said fondly. “How was your day?”_

_She pulled back in his hold, looking back at his face. “It was so fun.” She giggled. “Mai and Ty-Lee came over, and we played with the turtle ducks. Oh, and then I had a bath.”_

_“Did you practise your firebending?” He asked her._

_She nodded. “As soon as I woke up.”_

_“That’s what I expected from you.” He said, and Azula liked the praise. She heard her mother tut from the dining room table._

_“It’s getting late. She should be getting ready for bed.” Her mother said. “I shall put her down.”_

_Azula gave her father a pleading look, holding onto him tightly. Her mother never read her any of the_ good _stories. It was always a stupid princess story, or a fairy story, or a mermaid story. When her dad read her to sleep, it was way better. Warriors, and sinners, and murderers, were far more exciting._

_“I think she wants me tonight.” Her father said, stroking her hair._

_“No surprise there then.” Her mother growled darkly, taking her son’s hand in hers. Azula heard her, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say._

_Her mother was already taking Zuko somewhere, probably to play with him. Azula was a little jealous, even though she hated playing with her mother._

_“What story would you like tonight?” Her father asked, carrying her to her bedroom. He was much quicker than her mother._

_“Dragon story.” She said. “I want a dragon story.”_

_Ozai stroked his beard, before entering her bedroom. He laid his daughter down onto the bed, before sitting next to her. Without having to be told, Azula tucked herself into the bed, and waited for her father to speak._

_“Okay, I have a story. It’s about a woman who was punished by the gods, and became a monster. A little bit like a dragon. She was called Kiyohime.”_

_Azula shivered in excitement, closing her eyes._

_“She lived a long time ago, and her family provided lodgings for travelling priests. A very honourable thing to do. The kind of family we are sworn to protect, as Fire Nation royalty,” Ozai paused, and Azula kept her eyes pressed closed, though too excited to drift off. “One day, a handsome priest of the monks visited the lodgings, and Kiyohime, even though it was very wrong of her, against her teachings, ended up falling in love with the monk.”_

_Azula knew that love made you weak._

_“This was wrong because her family were providing a service to this man. Like how our family provide a service to the Fire Nation.”_

_One day, Zuko would be Fire Lord. Azula wondered if he’d be any good at it._

_“The monk, rightfully, rejected Kiyohime. He thought her a whore, for such a thing, and he was avid in his beliefs, as all men are. Her love became corrupt, as love so often does, and she ended up chasing the monk. Trying to kill him.”_

_Azula couldn’t help but smile. This was going to be the good part!_

_“The priest escaped across a river, and told the boatsman not to let her use his boat. However, Kiyohime was consumed by evil, her love making her… not see straight. So she decided to swim across the river, and as she did, she grew scales, and began to slither like a sea serpent.”_

_A little gasp escaped Azula’s lips. She heard her father snicker, placing an affectionate hand on her shoulder._

_“The priest took shelter in a temple, but it was no good. Kiyohime broke inside, and lit the whole place on fire. He died, and she spent the rest of eternity as a monster.”_

_Azula heard her father get up and leave the room. She mulled over the story for a moment. Kiyohime sounded like an idiot. Azula couldn’t even begin to imagine chasing after a boy. Boys were icky. And falling in love… She didn’t know much about that, but it didn’t seem like much of a good idea._

_Were her parents in love? She wasn’t sure._

_She could hear her father talking to someone outside of her room. She strained her ears to listen. The other voice she recognised to be her mother, and it didn’t take her long to realise they were talking about her. They did that a lot, she noticed._

_“Why would you tell her that story, Ozai?” Her mother sounded angry. “You know how I feel about putting those sorts of ideas into her head.”_

_“She likes them. They’re good for her.”_

_“How can you possibly think that? I caught her throwing rocks and the turtle ducklings the other day. And her firebending is out of control.”_

_“On the contrary, it’s what’s expected. If only Zuko showed any such promise, I would sleep far more soundly at night.”_

_“You… You…” Her mother couldn’t think of anything to say, it seemed, because she never finished her thought. After a while, she said something, but it sounded cold and more distant. It might have been, “I’m going to bed.”_

_“Good night.” Her father responded, and Azula heard his footsteps lead the other way._

_They probably aren’t in love, Azula thought. They don’t seem like they are._

-

“Azula, are you okay?”

She blinked. Her Uncle was smiling at her, holding a cup of steaming tea in his hands. He looked weary, but younger than he had eight years ago, if that was even possible, when her father had been captured and imprisoned.

“I’m fine, sorry.” She said quickly, taking the tea from him. “I just… Zoned out.”

“It’s okay.” He said contentedly. “It happens to the best of us. Table three, please.”

She nodded, carefully taking the tea over to the table.

When Azula had graduated from the academy, she hadn’t known what she’d wanted to do with her life. She could always continue living in the palace, working with her brother and helping to rule the nation. But that job wasn’t meant for her, it was meant for Zuko, and it always had been.

Her other option had been to work as an agent for the agency, but truthfully, Azula hadn’t wanted to. She didn’t enjoy the black suits, or the perilous missions. The academy for her, had just been the next step after the Fire Nation’s School for girls.

When she’d graduated, she’d hit a hurdle. That hurdle being the rest of her life.

It wasn’t like she didn’t have a beacon of light to follow. An extremely bright, luminous beacon of light that she hoped to follow for the rest of her life.

Ty-Lee.

So she was happy enough.

The image of young Ty-Lee, proudly holding up the turtleduck with her little toothy grin, was burnt into her brain. She let it sit there, whilst she handed the tea to the customer. She noticed the frightful look they accepted the tea with – probably because of who she was – so she tried to give them her most courteous smile.

It must have missed the mark, because it only seemed to freak the customer out further. She sighed, returning to the kitchen behind the counter. Why did a tea shop even need a kitchen? There wasn’t really much to it. She was sure they could make do with just a stall.

“Azula, my dear.”

She turned to Iroh. He was sipping his own cup of tea, sat next to the sink. His eyes watched her carefully, but she never felt judged around him.

“Yes, uncle.” She said.

She never had a _problem_ with Iroh as a young child, but he had always preferred Zuko. Pretty much everyone preferred Zuko, she thought. Except Ty-Lee. But since it was Zuko who recommended her for this job in Ba Sing Se, she could hardly say no, not with the benefit of seeing Ty-Lee as often as possible.

“Your girlfriend is returning from her mission today, no?” He mused, taking another sip. “I’m surprised you’re not more excited.”

Azula broke out into a grin, one she could hardly suppress.

“I am excited.” She said, a little too loudly.

Her uncle smiled back at her fondly. “You have seemed… _down_ in the dumps, lately. I’m happy for you, Azula. You can have the rest of the day off, if you would like. Jin is coming in, anyway.”

“Really?” She asked. The voice in the back of her mind started pounding at the side her skull. _You don’t deserve this kindness. You don’t deserve this kindness. You don’t deserve this kindness._

“Of course, Azula.” Her uncle waved off her unsureness. “You work harder than _me,_ for spirit’s sake.”

Azula was about to point out that working harder than her uncle wasn’t exactly difficult, but she bit her tongue. “Thank you, Uncle.”

She hung up her apron, and undid her hair from her bun. It was long now, much longer than it had ever been. Probably as long as, if not longer than, Ty-Lee’s. She bowed once more to her uncle, before leaving the kitchen.

“Oh, Azula!” Her uncle called. She stopped in her tracks, swivelling back around and poking her head through the curtain that separated the kitchen from the café.

“Yes, Uncle?”

“You do not have to be so polite to me, child. I am your uncle, not just your boss. And we have known each other a long time, no?”

_I tried to kill you, multiple times. I struck you with lightning. I had you thrown in prison for months._

“Sorry, yes. Uncle.” She said quickly, taking a few steps backwards and out of his line of sight. She didn’t know how to not be so polite to Iroh. He was giving her a living, after everything she’d done to him. It wasn’t possible for her to be rude to him, impossible for her not to treat him with every bit of respect she could muster.

_Not that there is much respect within you…_

On her way out of the teashop, she bumped into a figure. Panic filled her chest immediately, but she relaxed when she saw who it was.

“Jin.” She said with a smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

She laughed pleasantly. “If only you were a little taller.”

Azula forced out a laugh. She didn’t understand Jin’s sense of humour. It was simple, and there wasn’t anything to understand, anything to infer. To her, they sounded like observations more than jokes, but she’d seen others laugh with her.

“If only.” Azula smiled.

“Are you okay?” She asked, placing the back of her hand against Azula’s forehead. Azula jumped back from the touch slightly. The last person who had _touched_ her was probably Ty-Lee, six months ago.

Six months.

She couldn’t believe it had been six months.

“I am fine.” Azula said gently, lowering Jin’s hand with her own. “Just a little tired.”

“That won’t do!” She smiled. “Ty-Lee isn’t going to want you tired. Go home and take a nap. Zuko and I will be over tomorrow. Is noon still okay with you?”

Zuko was flying into Ba Sing Se that night. Azula was excited to see him. She hadn’t seen him since her graduation from the Academy. Their graduation had been a little… _overshadowed_ , since the details of Korra and Asami’s mission had been released. She still couldn’t believe it herself. After their mission, they’d both been put into protective custody, so Azula hadn’t heard from them. It had been six months though, so she’d probably hear from them soon… She hoped they were okay.

Lin had been mentioning at the graduation, about the condition she’d found the pair of them in. The thought made Azula shudder.

“That will be perfect.” Azula said. “See you then.”

She waved Jin goodbye, and walked down the road. The teashop was in the Upper ring, but Azula’s apartment was all the way in the lower ring, so it was a long walk home. She didn’t mind. She’d always lived in the palace, and it was a fresh – and much needed – change of pace.

There were things to _do_ , at last. And it wasn’t just practising firebending all day, or reading about the history of her nation. She kept plants alive in her room. There were recipes that she’d become good at cooking, and there were neighbours that knew her name and smiled at her. Some of them didn’t even know who she was before.

 _Before_.

Azula clenched her eyes closed. She didn’t want to think about her time in the Fire Nation, as much as she missed the land itself. It wasn’t like she was fourteen anymore. It had been a long time since she’d taken someone’s life with her fire. The thoughts haunted her nevertheless, day and night.

(Especially night.)

It took her forty minutes to walk home, and she’d managed to clear her heard before arriving. Everything was okay.

She watered her plants, and took out some frozen meat from her fridge, leaving it in a bowl of water to defrost.

After that, she really did feel tired. It didn’t make sense, because she _slept a lot_. More than she ever had before in her life. Her sleep was always disturbed though, so maybe that was why. She laid down on her couch, and closed her eyes, drifting into a restless slumber.

“Azula, baby?” She heard Ty-Lee’s voice. Her favourite voice.

“Mm…” She groaned, trying to reach out and grab Ty-Lee. She was surely dreaming, but when her hands wrapped around _something_ , her eyes widened. “Oh!”

Ty-Lee _was_ there. She’d come home.

“Hey!” Ty-Lee wrapped her arms around Azula, pulling her into a hug. Azula hugged back tightly, inhaling Ty-Lee’s stench. She’d never been able to pinpoint which flower she smelt of, but it didn’t matter. It was the smell of _home_.

“Hi…” She mumbled into Ty-Lee’s neck. “I missed you.”

Ty-Lee drew back, and placed a soft kiss on Azula’s lips. Azula kissed back lightly, drinking in as much of Ty-Lee as she could. Two days wasn’t enough. How could two days _ever_ be enough? She never wanted her to leave.

“I missed you too.” She said at last. Her eyes grew concerned as she looked at Azula. “You’re pale.” She said.

Azula grinned. “So are you. We’re Fire Nation, remember?”

“No, I mean…” Like Jin earlier, she put the back of her hand against Azula’s forehead. “You look sort of… sickly.”

“Uh?” Azula tilted her head. This wasn’t exactly the compliment she thought she’d be receiving today, from her girlfriend who worked in a military camp and was forbidden to make any significant communications with the outside world.

“Lay down.” Ty-Lee said, pushing Azula lightly against the couch. “I’ll be right back.”

She returned, a few minutes later, with blankets and pillows and a candle. Azula narrowed her eyes.

“Ty-Lee, I feel fine.” She urged, by Ty-Lee waved her off.

“You’re obviously sick.” She said, pushing the pillows underneath her head and wrapping her tightly in the blankets. “Light this, please.” She held out the candle, and Azula pressed her pinkie finger against the wick, a faint blue fire lighting it.

Even she noticed how the fire wasn’t as blue as normal, and Ty-Lee’s eyebrows shot up as well. Neither said anything though, and Azula decided that just for a few minutes, she would let Ty-Lee take care of her.

Just for a little bit.

“Do you like living here?” Ty-Lee asked softly, placing the candle on the coffee table and heading into the kitchen. Azula couldn’t see what she was doing, but she heard the kettle’s signature screech. She knew she could boil the water if she got up, but for some reason her body was tremendously heavy, like a piece of lead.

Azula thought for a moment.

“There is nowhere I’d rather live.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

Ty-Lee walked over and pressed a soft kiss to Azula’s head, bending over the back of the couch to reach. For anyone else, it might have been an uncomfortable angle, but Ty-Lee was a retired gymnast after all, and a Kyoshi Warrior. Azula swelled with pride whenever she thought about her girlfriend and her profession.

“You’re stationed just outside Ba Sing Se.” Azula said next, and Ty-Lee’s eyes tightened.

“Still not what I asked.”

The kettle finished boiling from the counter, and Ty-Lee sprang back up, heading towards it. Azula thought again. Ba Sing Se wasn’t terrible, and she had a routine here. Was she happy? Far from it. But how could she be happy anywhere, when she wasn’t with Ty-Lee?

“I’m happy when I’m near you.” Azula said finally, sitting up and watching the small woman craft two cups of jasmine tea. Iroh’s blend, and Azula’s favourite. Ty-Lee carried them over tentatively, not letting even a single drop spill from the mugs, her tongue resting on her top lip in concentration. She set them both down on the coffee table and turned back to Azula.

“You should still be happy, even when you’re a hundred miles away from me.” She said firmly.

Azula blinked. She had never thought about that. Was it _bad_ that she was so dependent on Ty-Lee for her happiness? That the only form of sunshine she really _felt_ was the love she had for someone that wasn’t herself?

“I should still be happy.” Azula repeated, with a frown.

Ty-Lee took a careful sip of her tea, not pushing the point any further. She was probably scared she’d push Azula away. Azula had used to be a fighter, a warrior, jumping on any strand of conversation that even might form an argument, but after everything she’d already been through with Ty-Lee… She just kept her mouth shut, not wanting to lose her.

_Because who would she be without Ty-Lee?_

“Can I cut your hair later?” Ty-Lee asked suddenly. “It’s too long for you. It must get in the way.”

Azula ran her fingers through it. “You don’t like it?” she asked, hating how her voice was laced with insecurity.

Ty-Lee giggled, in a way that only _she_ could giggle. It sounded like a child’s guffaw and a woman’s chuckle all at once. “I like everything about you, silly. But I know you don’t like it. And I want to cut your hair.”

Azula nodded. “Okay. You may cut it.”

Her girlfriend leant forward, placing the tea down again, and kissed Azula’s lips. They were as sweet as the sweetest dumpling in the whole Fire Nation. Azula smiled into the kiss dopily.

“I really did miss you.” Ty-Lee said, breaking her lips away from Azula’s. “Now, lay down and take a nap.”

Azula’s eyebrows drew closer together. “I’m not tired.”

“Those eyebags said otherwise.”

“I don’t have eyebags!” Azula gasped, touching the soft skin under her eyes.

“Sure you don’t, Romeo.” Ty-Lee laughed, clambering under Azula’s blanket and cuddling her. “I’m hoping that whatever you’ve got isn’t contagious.” She said, before Azula could point out that she obviously shouldn’t get in the blanket with her when she was ill.

Azula settled, Ty-Lee on her chest. The girl was looking at her intently, big grey eyes filled with something Azula couldn’t understand. Would _never_ understand.

“Don’t look at me like that.” She whispered. The air was hard to breathe, thick and heavy and humid. Maybe because Ty-Lee was so close. Had she always had this affect on Azula? She could hardly recall.

“Like what?” Ty-Lee said with a smile, her eyes full of _something,_ edging closer.

Azula didn’t have the answer for her.

“Like _that!_ ”

Her girlfriend surged forward and placed a searing kiss against Azula’s open mouth, and Azula melted into it immediately. Kissing Ty-Lee felt like coming home. It made everyday worth it. Made _everything_ worth it.

“I look at you like this…” Ty-Lee breathed, resting her forehead on Azula’s in between kisses. “…Because I love you.”

“I love you too.” Azula smiled. She wondered if there was a way that _she_ looked at Ty-Lee, that Ty-Lee could never quite understand, but that made her feel loved and safe. Hopefully, there was.

Azula fell asleep after only a few minutes, Ty-Lee’s weight on top of her, weighting her into the couch. Her sleep was dreamless, unless you count the feeling of warmth that occasionally ghosted her lips, even in the deepest of rest.

When she opened her eyes again, it was dark outside, and Ty-Lee was nowhere to be seen.

She sat up, panic taking over instantly. “Ty-Lee?”

What if she’d gone on a mission for another six months, and hadn’t wanted to wake up Azula? What if she’d been kidnapped, if one of her current enemies had found her and taken her? What if they’d _killed_ her, and Azula was now alone?

“Azula!” Ty-Lee came out from the bedroom. “I’m here, don’t worry. I’m here.”

She pressed a kiss to the top of Azula’s head, and Azula felt her muscles relax under her skin.

“Where were you?” Azula asked suspiciously, eyeing the door Ty-Lee had just exited.

“Looking for some scissors, but I couldn’t find any.” Ty-Lee admitted. “We need to cut this.”

Azula hadn’t realised _how_ long her hair was, until Ty-Lee was pulling it from all the way down at her hips.

“You just want to be the girlfriend with longer hair.” Azula said pointedly, and Ty-Lee’s eyes widened.

“That’s not it!” Ty-Lee insisted.

“Isn’t it?”

“Well…” Even in the dark room, Azula noticed the pinkness filling Ty-Lee’s cheeks. “Maybe a little.”

Azula giggled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Ty-Lee’s mouth. She already felt a million times better than she had before, and it was all because Ty-Lee was there with her. That couldn’t really be bad, could it?

“Fine, come on. Let’s do this in the bathroom.” She led Ty-Lee back the way she came, her fingers holding tightly to her girlfriend’s. Ty-Lee’s hands were always a little harder form gymnastics, but Azula liked that. Especially when they were raking down her back.

They entered the bathroom that adjoined to Azula’s bedroom, and Azula turned around, reaching over Ty-Lee’s head and into the cabinet above the sink.

“They’re in here.” She said, reaching up and snatching the scissors from the middle shelf. The top shelf was empty, because being five foot (and three quarters!) tall, Azula wasn’t able to put stuff there.

“I can’t reach that.” Ty-Lee, who was even shorter than Azula, pouted, and Azula pressed a kiss to her lips. She handed her girlfriend the scissors and sat on the edge of her bath, so that her hair was over the tub. Ty-Lee climbed in, giggling, so she was clambered behind Azula.

The feeling of Ty-Lee’s breath against her neck was heaven. She’d missed it.

It was more than just the sex she missed. Azula missed everything about Ty-Lee, from the way she smelled of flowers to her adorable toothy smiles. She missed buying her girlfriend dresses and perfume, missed going on dates and dressing up for restaurants, missed staying up late and talking about just about everything and yet always nothing important. Azula had missed the way Ty-Lee picked her nose when she thought Azula was not looking, the fact that she snored, and _loudly_. She had missed even the worst parts about Ty-Lee. The fighting, the silent treatment.

Living without her was hard, even though they’d done it for years. But now it was different. The idea of _Ty-Lee_ had once been a soft and sweet fantasy, one that could coax her to sleep at night but should never be humoured during the daytime, under the revealing sun.

And now, Ty-Lee was really there. Really with her.

“I love you.” Azula whispered, as she heard the snip of scissors at the back of her head.

“You might not when I’ve finished this.” Ty-Lee laughed nervously. More snipping noises could be heard, and they were a little closer to Azula’s ears than she’d expected. But she didn’t even have the strength to ask just how short Ty-Lee was going with it. Azula barely had the strength for anything anymore.

A silence, except from the scissors cuts, filled the bathroom, before Ty-Lee eventually whispered right against Azula’s ear, “I love you too.”

It was soft, and Azula knew she meant it. Her heart beat a little quicker, and she sank back into Ty-Lee’s hold, a hand placed on the small of her back, preventing her from falling in.

“I’ve got another mission after this.” Ty-Lee said gently. Azula’s heart sank. She’d been worried about this happening. Sure, it wasn’t _unexpected_. Her girlfriend was a Kyoshi warrior, after all, and her next shift was literally on Monday.

“How long does it last?” Azula asked quietly.

“Not too long. Just another six monther. But I get a longer break this time, some time in November.” Ty-Lee replied. Azula knew she must be risking her career, knew that the serious missions, the ones that made you a hero, were years long, and that Ty-Lee was picking the easier ones for her.

“Are you taking the short missions because of me?” Azula asked. Her voice was louder than she’d meant it to be, and Ty-Lee stopped snipping so Azula could turn around and face her.

Ty-Lee looked… shy.

“…Maybe.”

“ _Ty-Lee!_ ” Azula groaned. “You can’t do that. It isn’t… fair on you. I don’t want you to sacrifice your job for me.”

The fond smile on Ty-Lee’s lips was not the reaction Azula had been hoping for.

“I love you.” She said.

“Not the point.”

“Will you let me finish?” Ty-Lee raised her eyebrows sternly, and something about her tone made Azula’s insides shudder. She nodded. “I’m doing another six monther to qualify for my first year of training. And then I can choose whatever I want to do for my second year. Sure, there _are_ some cool looking longer missions, but now that I’ve got you… I want to be more flexible. Is that okay, Princess?”

Azula sniffed. She still wasn’t convinced.

“Fine.” She said at last, turning back to face the wall. “Now cut my hair.”

“So bossy.” Ty-Lee muttered, back at Azula’s ear. Her voice was low, and Azula gulped. Ty-Lee, since the solstice, had been so… Well, their sex life had a different dynamic now. Not that Azula minded, but the title _Princess_ , was becoming a little too fitting.

She continued to cut and snip away, chatting happily about her work. Azula liked when she spoke. She had never been a good listener, preferred to learn from books than teachers, and was always the louder friend, the one that spoke over everyone else. But with Ty-Lee… Azula just wanted to shut up and listen.

Once Ty-Lee had finished with her hair, she stepped back and grinned, “Ta-Da!”

Azula stepped up, walking to the mirror. Her jaw dropped when she saw her reflection.

“Do you hate it?” Ty-Lee asked quickly, panic pouring into her voice. “I haven’t really done it before, and I didn’t know if…”

She had cut Azula’s hair into a bob cut, just going past her ears. It was short. The shortest Azula’s hair had _ever_ been, even since she was toddler, and her head felt light and moveable.

And her reflection… It made her look cuter, even with the eyebags and the hollow cheeks, which she was just now noticing, and _yep, they were bad_.

“I _really_ like it.” She smiled, pulling Ty-Lee into a bone-crushing hug.

“Good. Because you look really adorable.” Ty-lee mumbled, her voice muffled against Azula’s chest.

Azula drew back, taking another long look at Ty-Lee. Her girlfriend. The one she _loved_. The only one she had ever loved, and the one she would always love.

“I want you to make love to me.” She whispered. “I want to… _Remind me you love me_.”

Ty-Lee’s eyes darkened immediately, and gently she placed her hand at the back of Azula’s neck, the hair short enough to feel in her fingers.

“Sure thing, Romeo.” She grinned cheekily, before crashing their lips together. Azula’s hands reached into Ty Lee’s hair, pulling at it lightly, and Ty-Lee groaned a little at the action. They both took a step back, heading out of the bathroom and towards Azula’s bed.

Their fingers were interlocked, their breaths merged, and Azula was reminded of everywhere they’d been together.

_“Have you ever kissed anyone, Azula?” Ty-Lee asked quietly. Azula’s eyes shot up to the petite girl, bewildered at such a question._

_The changing room was hot and sweaty, as it usually was after the eighth grade girls had PE. Azula told everyone constantly that they had to remember deodorant, but it didn’t stop them from forgetting. Sometimes, if she brought out her new blue flames, a little more could be done, but that was always a drastic measure (and Ty-Lee told her not to, so she usually didn’t)._

_“Kissing is for boring people. I like fighting more.” Azula replied, pulling off her long gym socks and tying them together before putting them in her gym bag. They were the last two in the changing room, since they’d offered to put away the equipment._

_“Mai said kissing is nice.”_

_Ty-Lee was just wearing a sports bra and white underwear, something Azula was painfully aware of. She didn’t know when she’d started to feel uncomfortable in the changing room. A month ago? Two? It felt wrong for her to be in there, as if she would make people scared. Not that she really understood why._

_“Mai’s got terrible taste in guys.” Azula replied. “Older boys are bad news. She’s hardly fourteen yet.”_

_“Older than us.” Ty-Lee observed. Azula let out a long breath, before nodding._

_“Older than us.” She agreed. “By three months.”_

_“We’ll all be in the Avatar Academy together! Isn’t that exciting?” Ty-Lee beamed, finally pulling her leggings that Azula never understood why she was allowed to wear, up her legs and over her butt._

_Azula turned around abruptly, pulling her pleated red plaid skirt to her waist, and finishing the last few buttons on her blouse. She gulped, turning back around to Ty-Lee, who was finally fully dressed._

_“It is.”_

_“Zula?” Ty-Lee was smiling at her awkwardly._

_“What?”_

_“What’s your type in guys?”_

_It was a simple question, and the answer was simple as well. But wholly unspeakable._

_“I don’t have a type in guys.”_

_True, but simultaneously untrue._

_“Oh.” Ty-Lee sniffed. “I like happy boys.”_

_Azula’s heart clenched. It shouldn’t have. In fact, that made a lot of sense. She should have known. Ty-Lee was happy, and of course she was going to be attracted to happy boys._

_Yet at the back of her mind, Azula knew she was the opposite of a happy boy, and that truly did bother her._

_“Cool.” She said flatly. “Go kiss one, then.”_

_She said it spitefully, but Ty-Lee didn’t notice. It was as if she had the inability to see when Azula was being mean. Maybe she did see, but chose to overlook it. They’d been friends for a long time, after all._

_“I’d rather kiss a girl.”_

_The words were plain and unadulterated, and Azula’s eyes shot up from the straps of her shoes, to Ty-Lee’s face. The girl was looking at her socks, tying the ribbons at the top of them. She was clearly trying to sit normally, to brush over what she had just said as if it were a normal and casual statement, but the way her bottom lip was caught in her teeth gave her away._

_“What?”_

_“Don’t… Don’t hate me.” Ty-Lee whispered._

_“Ty-Lee, did you say you want to kiss girls?” Azula asked. To her own surprise, her voice wasn’t as cruel and condescending as she wanted it to sound. Instead, she sounded rough. Confused._

_Ty-Lee looked up at her with big watery eyes, and Azula noticed how her body was shaking. The grip she had on her shoe faltered, and she dropped it to the floor._

_She nodded slightly. “I never told anyone. But yeah… I think girls are pretty. Prettier than boys.”_

_“That’s allowed?” Azula asked quietly. “That’s…. That exists?”_

_Ty-Lee shrugged, turning back to the floor._

_“I like this boy in our class.” She said, and she was almost silent. A pin could have been heard dropping in that changing room. “His name is Iroh. Named after your uncle, I guess. And he has nice hair. But I… Sometimes, I want to kiss a girl. A specific girl. Much more than I want to kiss him.”_

_“Which girl?” Azula asked, jealousy seeping into her words. This was_ her _Ty-Lee. Her best friend. No girl was allowed to come in the way of that, no matter how pretty, or smart, or—_

_“You.”_

_Barely a whisper, but it changed everything Azula had ever known._

_“Do you want to… Try it, then?” She asked._

_Ty-Lee’s eyes shot up to Azula’s._

_“Like, kissing?”_

_“Uh…” Azula looked away. It felt very warm in here, all of a sudden. Warmer than usual. “Only if you want to. It’s like practise. You know, for kissing boys.”_

_“Practise… For boys?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“Oh. Okay.” Ty-Lee stood up, awkwardly moving towards Azula without swinging her arms._

_Azula edged closer too, awkwardly, uncomfortably. She gulped. Was it meant to feel like this? She hoped her heart wouldn’t beat so quickly when she kissed a boy, because that could seriously ruin the mood. Could Ty-Lee hear it? She better not be able to hear it!_

_“Are we using tongue?” Ty-Lee asked._

_Azula wrinkled her nose. “Not this time. That’s gross.”_

_She hadn’t thought about the phrase ‘this time’ until she’d said it. And then it was out there, in the world, landing on Ty-Lee’s ears just for her to hear._

_Her eyes widened, staring up at Azula. She blinked once, then twice, before nodding slightly._

_All Azula could think was, ‘_ Well that could have gone worse.’

_“Shall we… Do it now?” Ty-Lee asked._

_“Uhm, yeah.”_

_Azula decided to take the lead, bending down and mushing her face onto Ty-Lee’s. Her lips tasted sweet, like the popcorn they’d shared at lunch. She parted quickly, looking away and putting her other shoe on._

_“Okay.” She said, not daring to look up at Ty-Lee._

_“…Okay.” Ty-Lee squeaked._

Ty-Lee pushed Azula onto the bed, kissing the space between Azula’s neck and jawline. Azula’s fingers reached up, pulling the hair on Ty-Lee’s head, enjoying the way the shorter girl grunted at the touch.

“I love you, Zula.” Ty-Lee rasped against her ear.

“I love you too.”

Ty-Lee’s hands wandered underneath Azula’s top, caressing the skin their gently. Her hands were more calloused than they had been six months ago, a sure sign that her girlfriend had been working hard.

Sometimes the title _girlfriend_ didn’t feel like enough. There were times when she was more like a sister, more like a best friend, more like an obsession. Azula had decided that the real word for this was _soulmate_ , but she was yet to say that to Ty-Lee.

Azula propped herself up, peeling off her top to reveal her bare chest. Ty-Lee took a moment, looking at Azula’s face, before her eyes dipped down to a sight she hadn’t been privy to in six months.

“I missed that.” She smiled, blushing. She looked back up at Azula, her smile growing, “And I love your hair right now.”

“Yeah?” Azula leant froward and kissed her girlfriend’s jaw.

Without replying, Ty-Lee ran her hands through the new and shortened locks, pulling slightly on the hair and causing Azula to open up her throat to her.

She groaned against Azula’s neck, hot kisses and sucks running down the pale skin, down the collar bone, and eventually down the space between her two breasts. She was teasing, and they both knew it, but Azula couldn’t even bring herself to care – she needed it this way, as if Ty-Lee had never left. For an afternoon at least, she could pretend that Ty-Lee hadn’t left.

 _She will always come back_ , she told herself. Azula knew this. Ty-Lee had always come back for her, even when Azula hadn’t deserved it. Especially when Azula hadn’t deserved it.

“You’re so beautiful, Azula.” Ty-Lee said breathlessly, grey eyes looking into gold. “So, so beautiful.”

Azula couldn’t help but smile, small specks of water finding their place on her bottom eyelid. She reached up, brushing them aside. ”Fuck.”

“Are you okay?”

“I just missed you so much.”

The words couldn’t get old.

Ty-Lee frowned for a moment, before leaning back down and locking her lips with Azula’s, softer, even more gently than before. As they kissed, Azula could feel everything – the love Ty-Lee held for her, the love she held for Ty-Lee, years and years of pining and yearning and brutal, cruel, heartaches, caused by herself or even by her father.

It hurt to kiss Ty-Lee, but only because she thought she’d never get to, and her heart could hardly handle it.

“I’m sorry I have to leave you.” Ty-Lee whispered, when they parted for air. “I really… I really don’t want to. I need you as much as you need me.”

 _I need you as much as you need me_.

Those words resonated inside Azula, and for a brief second, she was indignant. She didn’t _need_ Ty-Lee. Azula was a princess, and she had all the strength she needed right there on her own. Except, as soon as her immediate reaction faded, she saw the truth in those words.

For months, all she’d been doing was waiting for Ty-Lee to return, going about every day as if it was an endless and meaningless lull. Days could go by and the only firebending she’d do would be to make herself tea, or run herself a bath. Months could go by, and the only place she’d visit outside of her apartment was her place of work, a tea shop belonging to her uncle of all places. She hardly replied to any of her friends’ texts from the academy; not even Mai’s.

She _needed_ Ty-Lee, and she was realising that maybe that wasn’t such a good thing. The idea that she could ruin this, what they had, because of how dependent she was on her, frightened Azula all the way from her head to the tips of her toes.

“Are you okay, Zula?” Ty-Lee asked. Her eyes were concerned, her hands caring and loving, wrapped around Azula’s waist.

“Sorry… Yes, I’m okay.” She mumbled. “Can we… Do this tomorrow, maybe? I just feel so tired, and—”

“Of course, baby.” Ty-Lee said, pulling Azula against her and kissing her cheek and neck, with tiny little presses of her lips. “You never, _ever_ , have to give a reason why.”

Azula sniffed, getting a whole new load of Ty-Lee’s intoxicating scent. “I don’t deserve you.” Was all she said. “I don’t…”

And then the tears fell.

They almost shocked her. She hadn’t expected to cry – it was almost embarrassing. Her girlfriend had finally returned, come back to her, the thing she’d been desperately craving for months and months and months, and now it was finally here, she had the nerve to _cry_. What was wrong with her?

“Shh…” Ty-Lee whispered, rubbing soothing circles on her girlfriend’s back. “It’s not about deserving me, okay Azula? People don’t _deserve_ people. That’s not how it works.”

Azula sat back, rubbing her eyes, and Ty-Lee connected the space between them with yet another caring and gentle kiss.

“You are too good for me.” Azula said. “I’m… I’m _rotten_.”

_Even my mother thought so, and she was the one that was meant to love me. I was her only daughter, and she couldn’t help but despise me._

“People don’t _rot_ , Azula!” Ty-Lee cried, clutching Azula’s wrists tightly and making her golden eyes meet her grey ones. “Everyone has a history, a series of mistakes that they regret. But that doesn’t make you rotten, or bad, or evil, it makes you _human_.”

Azula didn’t know what to say, and that must have been okay because Ty-Lee just continued.

“You want me to think you’re evil, when you live in a tiny apartment filled with pretty plants, and you work at a tea shop every day, working for your small old retired uncle? When you could have become…” Ty-Lee bit her lip, and for an awful moment Azula thought she’d made her girlfriend cry. “You had every opportunity to become evil, to go insane, Azula. And you _didn’t_. You… You _finally_ became my girlfriend, and now you live out here just so you can see me on a one-off weekend, and you don’t even realise how messed up that is, because… I don’t know. You don’t think you’re worth any more than that, but you are! I promise you that you are!”

Azula stayed quiet for a moment.

“Can we go to sleep?” She whispered after a moment. “I’m just so tired.”

Ty-Lee must have felt dejected, but if she was, she didn’t show it.

“Of course, c’mon.” Ty-Lee leant back in Azula’s bed, and it struck her all at once how different her bed was to back home.

 _Back home_. Shouldn’t this be her home now?

The bed was so low to the ground that it was verging on a futon, and the covers were scratchy and unclean. Azula should have changed them before Ty-Lee got there, but it had slipped her mind and it was too late now. The shorter girl leant against the black headrest, arms widening expectantly.

Azula shifted over, sinking into the embrace.

“Whatever you want to do, Azula.” Ty-Lee whispered, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “As long as it’s together.”

Ty-Lee’s body was soft against her, like a pillow, the pillow she hadn’t known she’d needed, and for the first time in six long months, she had a good night’s sleep. Her dreams were pleasant, and unmemorable, but Azula was sure that she could smell flowers and feel calloused fingers against her skin.

It was the sun that woke her up, cascading through the window. It felt like home on her skin, like the Fire Nation, and as it always did when she first woke up, a fresh wave of strength overtook her. The next thing she felt was Ty-Lee, still at her back, her arms still wrapped around her, only one hand was rubbing up and down her arm delicately.

Still there, even though she was awake. More than just a dream, that night.

“Morning, my love.” Azula groaned, turning over and burrowing her face into Ty-Lee’s chest. “It’s so early.”

She heard Ty-Lee giggle. “You’re sounding like Korra.”

Azula scoffed. “I’m not that bad.”

“Not yet. These things worsen, you know.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you just tell your _beloved_ girlfriend to shut up?”

Azula shot up, but Ty-Lee was smiling jestingly. Her girlfriend leant forward, kissing Azula, before pulling her face back and wrinkling her nose.

“Morning breath!”

“You haven’t kissed me for six months, and now you won’t?” Azula teased with a grin. Ty-Lee laughed, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend’s dramatics.

“Brush your teeth and I will.”

She sat up, stretching her body. She enjoyed the way Ty-Lee’s eyes scanned her, as if she was unable to help herself.; hungrily, greedily. Hers.

“I missed this as well.” She said softly, and Azula smiled.

“Yeah. I understand.”

The two got up and brushed their teeth quietly in Azula’s small mirror, both glancing over at each other and neither wanting to be the first to spit out the toothpaste. Eventually, Ty-Lee gave in, giggling as Azula watched her with a smile.

“Shut up.” Ty-Lee giggled.

Azula pushed her softly, catching her before she could fall and pulling Ty-Lee’s body against her own. “Make me.”

She did.

They kissed and kissed and kissed, until it felt like maybe it was going to progress to something more than kissing, and Ty-Lee pulled back, Azula pressed against the sink and still locked within her arms.

“Actually, Zula, there was somewhere I wanted to go today. This morning, if you don’t mind taking me out on your day off.” Ty-Lee said in a whisper, and Azula shivered under the feeling of her minty breath on her face.

“Where?”

“The uh… That tree.” Ty-Lee blushed. “You know, the one where Lu-Ten is. I’d just like to pay my respects, if you don’t mind.”

That was something Azula had never done, she realised guiltily.

“Oh. Yeah, of course. We can go now, just let me fetch my coat.”

Holding Ty-Lee’s hand as they walked down the street was liberating, in every sense of the world.

She felt like she was holding her middle finger up to her father, to everything that had once controlled her, and at the same time, she was completely content. Absent of anguish, of hatred, of the crippling self-doubt that followed her everywhere. She was free, in those moments of intimacy.

Again, was it healthy to depend so heavily on somebody else for this happiness? Probably not, but what else could Azula do? What other choice did she have?

The air was crisp that morning, just the way Azula liked it.

“Ba Sing Se is pretty.” Ty-Lee said.

“At this time of the day.” Azula nodded. Later, when the criminals awoke, and the shops were open to be stolen from, and the police became too tired to do their jobs, overworked, understaffed, and more often than not, corrupt, it wasn’t such a nice neighbourhood.

They walked for twenty minutes, Ty-Lee stopping to peer into the running rivers, pointing at the koi fish and playing with the turtle-ducks.

“Look!” She’d smile, picking one up like they were children again. “Look how cute, Azula!”

Azula was telling her to put it down, of course, but she couldn’t help but think that nothing had ever really changed between them. She couldn’t help but feel like this scene had happened before, years and years ago.

They reached her cousin’s grave on the cusp of eight in the morning. The sun lit up the small hill like a beacon.

“Pretty.” Ty-Lee cooed, placing a flower that Azula hadn’t seen her pick on the grave. She closed her eyes, muttering something – a prayer, most likely – before turning back to Azula and smiling. “Would he have liked me?” She asked.

Azula hadn’t known Lu-Ten, not really. She’d been a child when he’d died, a young girl, and for her whole life he had been a fully grown man fighting in the wars. Still, he had the temperament of his father, and he was always happy to see her, even though she’d never been welcoming to him. In hindsight, that was probably why he’d liked Zuko more.

With this knowledge of his personality, however, she could answer Ty-Lee’s question honestly.

“He would have liked you a lot, my love. I’m sure.” She nodded.

“Good.” Ty-Lee sniffed, ribbing her forearms, a breeze rushing over the small hill. “I am pretty cute, so.”

“You’re cold.” Azula noticed, shoving off her jacket and putting it on Ty-Lee’s shoulders. She noticed the pretty view behind her, the sight of Ba Sing Se just waking up. A few Satomobiles were vrooming around, and there was the odd pedestrian, but other than that, Azula could envision little families waking up, the father at the stove, the mother desperately trying to dress the children, a docile dog still asleep in his bed.

If it was any other day, on any other weekend, Azula would be running herself a bath, steaming her apron for her shift at the tea shop, thinking about Ty-Lee. But Ty-Lee was here, with her. So she didn’t have to do that.

“Oh, Azula. You’ll get cold.” Ty-Lee turned to her, and Azula couldn’t help but think she was much prettier than the view. She _was_ the view.

“I’m a firebender, my love. I don’t get cold unless it’s like, arctic conditions.”

Ty-Lee beamed, placing a kiss on Azula’s cheek.

“Actually, Zula, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“You’re not happy here.”

“That’s not a question.”

“But you’re not.” Ty-Lee sighed. “And I know you think it’s best for _us_ , but I could just as easily have visited the Fire Nation this weekend.”

“I would get less time with you.”

“That’s not a reason to leave the place you love.”

“I love you more than any place.” Azula said sharply, clutching Ty-Lee’s hands. “You must know that.”

With ease, Ty-Lee peeled Azula’s hands from her own. “I do, Baby. But, I love you more than you love yourself, and that’s not good at all. There’s a lot of things I want to do after the Kyoshi Warriors. I hardly even want to be one, anymore. I want to train warriors instead, I find it more fun. And the idea of dying and leaving you alone… It’s too painful. It plagues me on every mission, on every quest. I’d rather be your lowly housewife than let that happen.”

“You’d never be my lowly housewife.” Azula said at once. “If anything, I’m _yours._ ”

Ty-Lee grinned. “You’re my housewife?”

“Well, no, but—”

“That leads on to what I wanted to ask you.” Ty-Lee interjected, before Azula could say anything else.

“What?”

“I’ve loved you since forever. Since before I knew what love was. Maybe it was when you kissed me in the changing rooms after practise, or when you kept me thinking the tooth fairy was real till I was sixteen.” Ty-Lee laughed to herself. “That must have been hard.”

“What is happening right now?”

Panic was rising in Azula’s throat, like bile.

“And we’ve been through the hard times, and the even harder times, and you’ve not always been there for me and I’ve not always been there for you, but… I don’t want that to happen ever again. I want you forever. In a legally binding kinda way.”

“Ty-Lee, _what?”_

“You’ll marry me, won’t you Azula?”

She rummaged in her pocket, finding a small band of silver and holding it up to Azula’s amber eyes.

“It’s not much since the warrior wage isn’t exact—Woah!”

Azula had thrown herself into Ty-Lee’s arms. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you! oh my god! Ty-Lee!”

And she was crying, and Ty-Lee was wiping away the tears, but there was nothing she could do to stop them from falling. At some point, the ring was slid onto her finger, and she was the happiest she’d ever been.

Ty-Lee obviously had more to say, she was obviously leading to something that was meant to be said before the proposal, about Azula in Ba Sing Se, but Azula didn’t care about that now. They hardly got to the apartment in one piece, kissing the whole way, attached at the lips, their hands looped together.

At one point, Ty-Lee was pressed against the wall of a bakery, and Azula was convinced she was going to take her right there and then, but a child came around the corner and pointed at them and the two were running down the street again, towards Azula’s apartment, towards their home.

Azula fumbled with the door, whilst Ty-Lee kissed the back of her neck, her hand wrapped tightly around her _fiancé’s_ waist.

“Fuck, I love you.” Ty-Lee murmured with a giggle. “I was worried you’d say no.”

“Like I could ever.” She scoffed.

The door finally fell open, and Azula grabbed Ty-Lee by both sides of her face and sent them toppling backwards against her sofa.

“We—Need—To close the—Door!” Ty-Lee gasped, kisses still being pressed against her face whilst Azula was so overwhelmed she couldn’t say a word.

Ty-Lee sat up, pushing the door shut, and for once Azula was glad that her apartment was so small.

“Take off your clothes.” She commanded, and Ty-Lee’s eyes darkened.

“You want it this way?” She asked, and Azula was already ripping off her own clothes, so that she stood in nothing but a bra and panties. She stepped forward, forcefully lodging Ty-Lee against the wall.

“If you don’t take them off, I will.”

Ty-Lee groaned, her hands pulling up her top. “Fuck, Zula.”

She got about half way, her top still underneath her shoulders, before Azula decided that was enough. She pushed Ty-Lee’s arms against the wall, and wasted no time before connecting her lips to the flesh above her fiancé’s breast.

Soft, flower-scented, the place that Azula had grown to love, to know inside and out.

“You’re okay with this, right?” She whispered, worried that she’d become too excited, too possessive.

“Mhm…” Ty-Lee whimpered, with a nod.

The skin on Ty-Lee’s nipple was softer, addictive, and as Azula sucked, Ty-Lee’s moans got louder.

“Just like that…”

Her tongue darted out, and Ty-Lee’s hand clamped into her hair.

“ _Fuck!_ ”

“Just tell me if you want to stop.” Azula whispered.

“Okay, I will…” Ty-lee gasped, as Azula’s hands found the backs of her thighs and she was hoisted upwards. She thought Azula was going to wrap her legs around her torso, maybe pin her to the couch, but she kept going _upwards_ , until finally Azula had placed Ty-Lee’s thighs on her shoulders, with her back still against the walls.

“High ceilings in here.” Azula mused. “Can I?” She twiddled the line of rope that tied up Ty-Lee’s trousers.

Ty-Lee, much too flustered to even think straight, could only nod frantically. Azula was glad that she still had this affect, and glad that she was still strong enough to pick Ty-Lee up. She’d been on the bottom for _way_ too long.

The string gave way to Ty-Lee’s black panties, and Azula licked her lips.

Still, she couldn’t rush things. Even if they’d been making out for almost forty minutes, ever since Ty-Lee proposed.

 _Ty-Lee proposed_.

Just the thought made Azula want to cry all over again, but she wasn’t going to ruin the mood with crying. She’d also literally ruined this same mood the night before, and Azula wasn’t trying to start a routine.

Testily, she kissed down Ty-Lee’s thigh, skipping over her centre and going down the other one. Ty-Lee’s legs wriggled on Azula’s shoulders, trying to push her core against Azula’s face, but she wasn’t having any of it.

“If you want it, you’ll have to keep still.” Azula murmured against her thigh. The vibrations made Ty-Lee shudder.

“O-Okay…” She settled, and Azula was finally free to do what she wanted to do. Her kisses on Ty-Lee’s thighs grew deeper, opening her mouth, tasting all she could of the lithe muscle underneath.

“You’re so pretty…” She’d murmur against the skin. “I’m so happy…”

Azula glanced up at Ty-Lee, who was shaking with anticipation, a tiny bead of sweat dripping from the corner of her eyebrow and onto her cheek. She leant up and wiped it off.

“You okay?”

“ _Please, Azula!_ ”

“Okay, okay.” Azula grinned, placing a kiss on the lining of the black fabric, before kissing the spot where she knew Ty-Lee’s clit would be. She was glad to feel her chin being soaked with wetness, even through the material. It was good to know that Ty-Lee still wanted her.

 _She shouldn’t though_.

Azula pushed that thought back. Not right then. She could save that till after Ty-Lee had gone back to her work. She didn’t want to ruin the mood just yet.

“Take them off.” Ty-Lee begged. “Please.”

Azula didn’t just take them off, she _burnt_ them off. It was her favourite trick, one she’d learnt when she’d been younger and more sexually adventurous. Now, Ty-Lee got to reap the benefits from all that, so Azula couldn’t bring herself to care too much. Blue fire scathed Ty-Lee’s skin, but it didn’t hurt, only tickled the nerve endings. Azula was always precise.

She kissed her thigh again, this time kissing in between the leg and her folds, before finally kissing the lips of Ty-Lee’s centre.

“You always taste so good.” Azula praised, and Ty-Lee groaned, pushing Azula as hard as she could towards her core.

Azula’s tongue danced around her fiancé’s entrance, before running its way through her folds and finally circling her clit. Ty-Lee let out a cry of approval, and Azula continued her steady ministrations, building the pressure appropriately, doing it exactly how she knew Ty-Lee liked.

“ _Fuck, Azula… Yes…”_

She got quicker and quicker, Ty-Lee’s hand tightening impossibly, and just as Azula knew Ty-Lee was going to fall over the edge – she pulled back.

“What? No!”

“Hey, hey.” Azula said calmingly, tilting her weight so Ty-Lee was resting more on one side. She pulled her hand up, running it through Ty-Lee’s wetness. It coated Azula’s chin and neck, but she didn’t care. Her fingers started at the bottom of Ty-Lee’s ass, running upwards, gathering as much of it as she could.

She placed the fingers in her mouth, running her lips from her knuckles to the tip. Her eyes rolled back – Ty-Lee was delicious.

“Fuck, Zula, come _on._ ”

“Impatient, aren’t we?”

“For you, Princess. For you.” She grinded against Azula’s shoulder, and the princess’ other hand shot up to stop her.

When Ty-Lee called her _princess_ , a shudder filled Azula’s body.

She placed her forefinger at Ty-Lee’s entrance, before slowly pushing through the tight skin there and into the entrance of her pussy. Ty-Lee’s head fell back against the wall, her hips rocking forward, trying to take more of Azula’s finger inside, but Azula didn’t budge.

“Why are you _being like this?_ ” Ty-Lee groaned.

“I like to see my girlfriend squirm, is all.”

Ty-Lee opened her eyes, staring down at Azula. Both her hands found Azula’s cheeks, and in a very serious tone, she whispered, “Your _fiancé_ , Azula.”

Azula blinked. “My fiancé.” She smiled, “Oh. Yeah.”

“Are you going to—”

Azula didn’t even let her finish, her finger finally entering Ty-Lee properly. She knew this area of Ty-Lee as well as she knew the rest of her, finding that rigid spot on her front wall quickly. Slow, at first, she pumped in and out, brushing it every time. Ty-Lee was gripping the smooth wall, desperately trying to latch onto something, before deciding that Azula’s head would have to do.

Azula added a second finger when she felt Ty-Lee’s walls ripple.

“Oh my… God… Azula…” Ty-Lee panted, pushing as hard as she could with her hips into the hand that was holding her up, her thighs dangling dangerously close to falling off Azula’s shoulders.

Not wanting that to happen, and also wanting to taste her beautiful fiancé again, Azula took a step forward and pushed out any space between her face and Ty-Lee’s clit, rubbing her tongue all over it again whilst simultaneously propping her against the wall.

“Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fu— _Ah!_ ” Ty-Lee hit her peak, moving her hips forwards one last rigorous time and forcing her core against Azula’s face. “ _Fuck, Azula…”_ She hissed, as Azula’s tongue and fingers helped her ride through the small aftershocks that follow a good orgasm.

“You okay?” Azula asked, once she was sure Ty-Lee was done. She helped lower her fiancé to the ground, and immediately Ty-Lee embraced her, peppering kisses all over her skin.

“I love you!” She squealed, and Azula laughed, rubbing the small of her back.

“I love you too.”

A knock on the door awoke both of them from their trance.

“Did we wake a neighbour?” Ty-Lee asked, concerned. As she often acted, after sex, she was pressed against Azula’s side, clinging on at all costs. Azula wouldn’t have it any other way, her own arm around her girlfriend’s waist.

“Crap! What’s the time?”

“About noon? Why?”

“Zuko and Jin are coming over!” She exclaimed.

“They are? For what?”

“To see us!”

“Oh!” Ty-Lee beamed. “How nice of them! Come on, Azula, let them in.”

“Would you like to put your clothes back on first?” She said, raising an eyebrow. She was already pulling her own clothes back on. Ty-Lee smirked.

“Would _you_ like me to?”

Azula tightened her hold on Ty-Lee’s waist. “Never, but I don’t want anyone else to see you like this either.”

Ty-Lee shivered. “O-Okay.” She nodded, quickly adjusting her top and pulling her trousers up. The black panties she’d been wearing, ruined anyway from her wetness, she placed in Azula’s pant pocket. “For you.” She whispered, and Azula grinned down at her.

Azula opened the door, reminded again that although she was taller than Ty-Lee, they were both much shorter than everyone else in the world.

“Ty-Lee!” Jin chimed. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a pretty dress, traditional Earthen style. Was she even wearing makeup, as well?

 _Hm,_ Azula pondered, _She must have really wanted to see my brother._

Jin threw herself into Ty-Lee’s arms, embracing the girl tightly. They’d met once, six months ago when Ty-Lee had helped Azula move into the place, and Zuko and Jin had come along too. The two of them really hit it off, since both of them were tiny balls of sunshine, destined to look after moody Fire Nation royalty.

Once Jin had moved, it cleared the way for Azula to see her brother. He was a man now, at twenty-three. Zuko had always looked old for his age, and now he looked like he could have been in his mid-thirties.

“Brother.” She said warmly.

“Sister.” He opened his arms to her.

Usually, she was opposed to fraternal affection, but it had been too long. Far too long. The longest she’d gone since Zuko had left, all those years ago, to _find the avatar_. Azula wondered about those months he spent at sea, finding nothing, since the real avatar was a teenage girl in a whole different realm. She wondered if he thought of her, or if she was too far in the depths of evil at that point for him to care.

“How are you, Azula?” He asked, once they parted.

“I am good.”

She could tell he didn’t believe her. He had every reason not to, after all.

 _Pathological liar._ That was what her mother had said once. That she was a pathological liar. Weird that those words still haunted her.

“The place is pretty! Look at all these plants, Zu.” Jin called back, smiling as she ran her hand down a rather large one Azula kept near the kitchen.

“Small as ever, this place.” Zuko muttered. “I can never imagine you living here.”

“I’ve changed a lot.” Azula told him.

“And you’re happy?”

“I’m not bad, anymore.” She said simply, moving to slip her hand in with Ty-Lee’s. The girl still smelled like sex; she wondered if Jin had noticed.

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

Azula heard him, but didn’t grace him with a reply.

After about twenty minutes, both couples decided to play a game of charades. Well, Jin and Ty-Lee decided to play, and their respective partners had no choice in the matter. It was a boring, usual house game, and it felt ever so bland to Azula, but in a way she also liked that – that was what her and Ty-Lee were now. A bland, boring couple. It was almost as if all the bad things never happened.

 _But they did,_ the voice whispered, _They did happen, Azula, and look how disgusting you turned out._

Her grip tightened on Ty-Lee’s hand, and when a pair of grey eyes looked to her with concern, she softened.

“You okay?” Ty-Lee whispered.

“Mhm.”

Jin wasn’t very good at actions, and Zuko wasn’t very good at guessing. Together, they made a very poor charades team. Azula found it mildly amusing.

“An elephant? No, a helicopter! It’s a helicopter! Wait, not a helicopter? A dinosaur! A dino-“

“Times up!”

“I was a _fork._ ” Jin groaned, and Azula burst out into laughter. She noticed Ty-Lee’s fond gaze on her, and basked in the stare.

“Actually, there was something else we wanted to speak to you about.” Zuko said, suddenly serious.

“Huh?” Ty-Lee looked over at him.

“Not you, Ty-Lee. Well, not _not_ you. If you want it to be you, I mean, sure we can—”

“Zuko, just tell her already!”

“We found a boy.” Zuko said. “Twelve or thirteen, we think.”

Azula looked at him, a snarky comment already half way out of her mouth. “You _just_ found a boy? Wait till you hear about gir—”

“He has blue fire, just like you.”

Azula paused, her eyes widening.

“What?”

“His fire is like yours, Azula. He won’t tell us where he came from, how he got it. But normal training doesn’t work. His fire hurts other firebenders, like yours does. And he’s dangerous.” Zuko said it with no malice, but nevertheless Azula’s heart throbbed when she thought of how she’d used her fire in the past, “And we want you to come home, and train him. Nobody else can. Will you?”

“Will I?”

Azula didn’t know what to say.

She didn’t know if she wanted to.

How she got her blue flames… She didn’t even want to think about it. The relentless training, the emotional abuse, the sadness and anguish. It wasn’t something she’d wish on anyone, it was something she wished she’d never gone through. And for someone else to have the flames… A child, no less…

“Oh, Azula, this is great news!” Ty-Lee squealed, “You hate this place, and don’t pretend you don’t.”

“But you’re here.” She whispered.

Ty-Lee sighed.

“I’m not really here.” She said softly. “I come back every few months. And I’d rather spend my next week off work with my family as well as you. If you move to the Fire Nation, I can. And you’ll have a job! She’ll get paid, right?” She whipped around to Zuko.

“Of course. She’ll get paid the usual masters’ salary for teaching.”

Whatever it was, Azula knew it had to be more than a tea shop waitress’ salary.

“I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll _think_ about it?” The other three said at once.

“We were hoping you’d come back to the Fire Nation with us?” Jin added.

“You’re leaving, Jin?” Azula asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

Jin frowned. “I announced that I was leaving over a month ago. We talk about it all the time…?”

“We _do?”_

Azula was really losing it. Maybe she did need to leave this place. She’d heard stories of Ba Sing driving people crazy, seen it first hand when she’d headed the Dai Li all those years ago…

“And when you come back to the Fire Nation, there’s a doctor we’d like you to see.” Zuko said cautiously. “A… Counsellor, if you will.”

“Therapy?” Azula growled. “ _I’m fine, Zuko._ I already did therapy!”

 _And it didn’t work_.

“Azula, come on, please!” Ty-Lee asked, with big gooey grey eyes.

It was the eyes that made Azula say yes. She could never refuse those eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me???? updating this???????? i told u i meant business this december and i wasn't lying ;)
> 
> tw for sexy times. violence and torture. and also azula being so, so depressing that u just wanna wrap her up and take care of her despite her war criminal past.

“It’s Aohi, yes?” Azula greeted the raven-haired boy with a forced smile. “I’m guessing you gave yourself that name. It means _Blue Sun_ , does it not? Otherwise, it’s a rather funny coincidence.” The laugh she produced was blatantly, uncomfortably artificial.

It was an awkward moment to make; Azula feared she was becoming more and more like Zuko as the days went on.

The boy in front of her was obviously of Fire Nation descent. He had dark bronze eyes, so close to the colour of coal you might have thought they were black, and his skin was the same shade as Azula’s. His hair was a mess upon his head, sticking out in all directions, and his body was scrawny. Malnourished, more than likely.

The pair stood in one of Zuko’s, in one of the palaces, training halls. Apparently the boy lived here in the palace. The only reason he got to, and not the other orphans, was because of his flame. Azula didn’t know if that was fair or not. The flame, however, Azula knew well; the flame that burnt hotter than the rest. He hadn’t made it for her yet, but she knew he could. Call it firebenders’ instinct.

“I can feel your power.”

And how familiar it was. It was the same power that she’d scorched others with, long ago. She knew where hers came from – a place of pain, a place of misery, a place of unbridled anger. Even when she’d lost (some of) those qualities, her fire still burnt blue, like a scar upon her soul. Curiosity got the better of her, when she looked at the boy before her. She wanted to see her scar reflected in him, just to see that it could be. She wanted to know how he got it, too.

“Okay.” The boy said shortly. He stood with all his weight on his heels, leaning at an angle that had to be terrible for his back. His eyes pointed at the floor, and it only pronounced the hollowness in his cheek bones.

“Will you show me the fire?” She asked. She wasn’t good with children; didn’t know how to speak to them. The teachers she had at the academy were her only examples, and they had never been bending masters, for she’d already known by the time it came to education. But her bending masters from before… She couldn’t recreate their techniques. Refused to, even.

The boy said nothing.

He looked lifeless, and if he’d been laying down, Azula might have thought him a corpse.

Despite his long hair, Azula could make out a scar on his neck. It ran down from somewhere on his back, and curled under the front of his shirt. Even with just a slither of it available for her eyes, it was obvious what it was.

An imprint of a hand, burnt into his shoulder.

“How did you get that scar?” She asked, throwing caution to the wind. It wasn’t like it was working, anyway.

He turned to her, his eyes moving through his sockets as if he were nothing more than skin and bone. Azula wasn’t scared, for she had seen far worse.

“How do you think.”

It wasn’t a question. It was hardly a sentence, whispered through the gap in his teeth as if the words themselves were poisonous.

Azula held her hand out, her palm facing upwards, and created a small and controlled blue flame. His eyes lit up when he saw it, but other than that, he didn’t move.

“Is it to do with how you got your blue fire?” She asked.

The boy looked up at her incredulously, before a short and croaky laugh erupted from his throat.

“Don’t act… Like we’re the same.” He choked out through his laughter. The noise hung steadily in the air, echoing off the distant walls. It was a side affect of having such large rooms in the palace.

“I think we’re more similar than you think.”

The boy’s laughter stopped altogether. It was replaced by a dark expression, somewhere between sadness and annoyance.

“You don’t have the scars like me.” He said, slowly. “You don’t have the memories I have. All you have is the fire, but you didn’t go through _anything_ that I went through!”

Azula stared at him in surprise. His outburst was the most he’d said to her, and from what Zuko had told her, probably the most he’d said to anyone in the palace.

Not only that, but it was entirely untrue.

“Oh.” She managed to say. It took her less than a second to decide what to do. She turned around, and unbuttoned her shirt at the front.

“What are you doing!” He cried, but Azula paid him no attention. Instead, she dropped the shirt to the floor, and held her small breasts in her left arm, so all Aohi could certainly see of her was her back.

She knew his eyes must have fallen to the scars, because he fell quiet. If it had been a year ago, or even six months ago, Azula might never have shown him this part of herself. Not on their first meeting, anyway. But she was drained, drained from having no direction and living in a tiny apartment and working in her uncle’s tea shop and counting the days till her girlfriend got back from her dream job. Azula wasn’t going to _wait_ anymore.

“I have the scars, too.” She said flatly. “And I think you can see, they’re worse than yours.”

And they were. Long, dwindling lines of white burnt flesh running up and down her back. The print of a foot, though the toes weren’t defined, sat on the crease of her waist. There were plenty of smaller scars, too, all burns. He never scarred her front. He said that a warrior must have a clean front, so nobody could see the work they put in, to become as strong as they were.

Azula didn’t know if she’d call what her father and her did, _work._

“You’re…”

She turned around to face the boy, quickly retying her shirt as she did so, to maintain her modesty. His face was blinking rapidly, horror spreading through his features.

“You’re… _Weak!_ ” He spat, and turned on his heels. Azula didn’t have time to chase him out of the room, because something hot and blinding pierced her vision, and suddenly she was on the floor, writhing in agony. At first, she’d thought the boy had done it, thought it was Aohi’s fire, but no… It wasn’t him.

_“Azula!” Her father smiled warmly, holding his arms open to invite his little girl into his lap. She wasn’t so little anymore – thirteen, and full of firebending, but he still cared for her like she was seven._

_“Dad!” She grinned, hopping into his lap._

_“What did you do today?” He asked._

_“Weeeeell.” She began with a smile. “I played with Mai in the weapons’ range. Then I went to school. We had more poison training today. And then I went to Ty-Lee’s house.”_

_“And what did you do at Ty-Lee’s house?” He asked, turning half of his attention back to the desk in front of him. There were piles and piles of scrolls and spreadsheets, and Azula was proud to know that her father would meticulously complete each one._

_Azula thought back to Ty-Lee’s house with a blush. They’d played in her garden for a bit, and Ty-Lee had taught Azula how to do a handspring. They’d fell into a heap multiple times, but it had been worth it to hear Ty-Lee’s sweet laugh, to feel it reverberate in her chest, and to have their faces so close as they giggled together._

_After the garden, they’d helped her mother make dinner. It was nicer food than Azula got in the palace, she was sure of it, though she had no clue how. Ty-Lee said it was because it was homely, though that wasn’t a legitimate cooking technique. They’d had to make it for all of Ty-Lee’s sisters as well, but it was no more than usual, even with Azula there, because Ty-Lee’s father was out fighting in the war. They’d made rice and dumplings and stew, and all sorts of other things, and afterwards Azula and Ty-Lee had been so full they’d taken a nap in Ty-Lee’s bedroom, entangled together. Ty-Lee’s exceedingly pink bedroom._

_The heat in Azula’s cheeks spiked down her neck, and she looked away with an awkward chuckle. “The usual. Just hanging out.”_

_The truth was, Azula wasn’t sure why she’d been so happy visiting Ty-Lee’s house recently. She wasn’t sure why the thought made her smile so much, or why Ty-Lee’s giggle sounded like a symphony to her ears. She wasn’t sure_ why _that was the case, but it couldn’t be bad, could it?_

_Well, she said she wasn’t sure, but it might have something to do with that kiss in the locker room, all those weeks ago. And the other kisses since then._

_Her father was looking at her as if he’d noticed something she hadn’t. “And tell me, Azula.” He said, his voice lowering in what should have been a frightening manner, but still held that comfortable, fatherly tone. “Does Ty-Lee have any brothers?”_

_Azula frowned. “No brothers. Just sisters. Six sisters.”_

_“Ah, yes, I know her father. Of course, the seven identical daughters.” Her father hummed, turning over a scroll. Azula watched in delight as her father’s eyes scanned down the sheet of old paper. “Her father, then. Was he nice to you today?”_

_“Don’t be silly, Dad.” Azula smiled coyly. “Her father’s fighting in the war.”_

_“Ah.” Ozai’s mouth formed a line._

_“What’s wrong, Dad?”_

_“I was getting ahead of myself, I think, but… You’re almost at that age, aren’t you?” He said with a small smile, but Azula didn’t like the look in his eyes at all. Anger. He rubbed the top of his child’s head, before letting out a long sigh. “I will need you to marry a noble, and soon.”_

_“Huh?” For a second, Azula’s usual composure faltered. She found her bearings. “Oh, right.”_

_Ty-Lee was a noble’s child, wasn’t she? Then it would all be fine. She would marry Ty-Lee._

_“I have selected one for you, so you mustn’t worry about that. His name is Chan. He’s a fine young man, and the perfect candidate for a royal match. It will be you that is crowned Fire Lord, and I would never take that from you, but he will make an honourable companion.”_

_A lot of what he said had fallen on deaf ears. Azula had a solution that meant she didn’t have to marry a stranger. A boy stranger, too. How repulsive!_

_“Can’t I pick a noble instead?” She asked._

_Ozai turned to her with muted interest. “I suppose.”_

_“Well, what about Ty-Lee?” Azula said. Her father’s features froze over for a moment, but he didn’t move, and Azula took that as a reason to keep talking. “She’s of noble birth, and she’s already my best friend, and I think she’d make a really good—”_

_“Azula!” Ozai snapped, and Azula’s mouth fell shut immediately. “I will not listen to such unnatural, dishonourable talk, and I certainly won’t hear it from my only child. You are sounding like Zuko, so full of bad ideas. Where is your sense of pride?”_

_“My… Pride?” Azula stammered. Her knees were quaking – her father very rarely yelled at her. It was always Zuko that had been the brunt of his anger, and Azula had always been her mother’s, when her mother was still around._

_Ozai stood up silently, and yet with all the force of the Fire Nation in his joints._

_“You are_ weak! _” He cried, and his hand slashed Azula around the face, so hard that she fell to the floor. She stifled her cry, not wanting to show anymore weakness. Her own foolishness was catching up with her. Of course her and Ty-Lee could never marry. Of course. She was a Fire Nation noble’s_ daughter _, not a Fire Nation noble. How foolish she was. How stupid and foolish._

_“I’m sorry, father!” She yelled, but it was Ozai this time, who did not listen. He stamped his foot down on the ground, fire spewing from in between the cracks in the floor board, and scalding Azula’s front – though not enough to leave a scar. Never a scar on the front._

_Ozai stormed forward, pulling her face up with his hands._

_“I could give you a scar to match your brother’s.” He said quietly. “Don’t bother me with such a notion again. I am glad you have agreed to marry Chan, that will be the best for everyone, and for yourself.”_

_Azula sunk to her knees, shaking like a paper soldier. “Yes, Father.”_

The memory was still shaking Azula hours later. They came and went, really, but ever since moving to the Fire Nation, they’d been happening more and more. The memories. She supposed, it was because so many of the things here hadn’t changed since then. The people, the most. They looked at her the same. As if they’d make one wrong move and she’d burn their faces off. She probably would have too, all those years ago.

_Monster._

“Azula?” The soft voice of her girlfriend was heaven to Azula’s tired, tired ears.

She was home then, in the large apartment granted to her by her brother. He’d wanted her to stay in the palace, but she just couldn’t. Every corner she turned was a reminder of the person she’d once been, of the people she’d once hurt, of the people that had hurt her. She couldn’t stay there – so this apartment, nearby, was found.

Though she wasn’t in the palace, she was home. Her home. It felt like home too, even when Ty-Lee wasn’t there. She’d decorated it with things she liked, brought lots of the plants from Ba Sing Se over with her, and had even taken out some old pictures, from when she was younger. There was one that she particularly liked, of her and Ty-Lee and Mai. They stood by the turtle duck pond; Mai looked grumpy, Ty-Lee looked far too pleased, and Azula was wearing a smug smirk, as if she knew something the others didn’t.

How ironic it was, for she truly knew nothing at all back then.

“Hey, Lee.” Azula said, turning around from where she sat on the couch, in front of the searing blue flames. Her girlfriend – no, her _fiancé_ – was wearing a flowy summer frock, her hair in it’s usual braid. “I like your dress.”

“Thanks.” Ty-Lee beamed. “It was so hot today! My parents made us sit inside, as well. And Ty Lao wouldn’t shut up about her new baby boy. So annoying. And Baby, when I say he isn’t cute, he _isn’t_ cute. And I think everything’s cute!”

Azula let out a soft chuckle, which caught Ty-Lee’s attention.

“And how was your day?” She asked quizzically. “The boy is nice, right? Zuko said he was nice.”

“Zuko was being dishonest.” Azula said roughly, turning her attention back to the fire. It was so weak, and no matter how hard or in what manner she focussed, the flames wouldn’t grow.

“I see.” Ty-Lee said thoughtfully, sitting next to her fiancé. There were a few inches of space between them, that Azula quickly closed, placing her head on Ty-Lee’s lap.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come with you, to see your family.” Azula mumbled. Ty-Lee’s hand found its way to black silky hair, and slowly, methodically, she began to brush through it. When her fingers caught a tangle, they would gently guide through it, nails lightly scratching her scalp.

Ty-Lee bent her neck down, placing a kiss to the crown of Azula’s head. “It’s okay. You would have hated it, anyway.”

“I like your sisters.” Azula argued weakly. In truth, she would have hated seeing Ty-Lee’s parents and sisters. The looks they would have given her… It would have been too much to bear.

“No, you don’t.”

“Well, I like what they look like.”

Ty-Lee giggled, pushing Azula lightly with the butt of her palm. “Shut up, you.”

“Never.” Azula said, turning her face into Ty-Lee’s thighs and letting out a long sigh. “Can we sleep right now, please?”

“It was that bad, huh?” Ty-Lee whispered, placing another kiss, this time to the back of Azula’s head. Her fingers tangled themselves in Azula’s, and she slowly brought the girl up to her feet, met with only a little resistance – Azula’s sheer exhaustion. “Come on, we can sleep. In the bed, though.”

“In the bed.” Azula nodded, smiling at where her hands met Ty-Lee’s. How did she get so lucky?

_You don’t deserve it._

“The dining hall is magnificent, Zuko!” Ty-Lee praised, her eyes darting around the spacious room.

Zuko smiled at her, his obvious pride shining through, and Jin burst out into laughter. “You always say that, Ty-Lee! How many times have you eaten here now?”

The answer was three, but Azula chose not to mention it.

“It just amazes me, every time.” She giggled, turning her attention to Azula next to her. “Isn’t it amazing?”

Azula, who had been watching Ty-Lee closely, smiled at her fiancé. “Yes, I suppose it is quite nice.”

“ _Quite nice!_ ” She cried indignantly. “It’s positively gorgeous. And the food! I love the food!”

“You two are pure opposites.” Zuko said in amusement.

Azula pondered that for a moment. She supposed they were quite different in numerous ways, but they weren’t really opposites. They shared the same ideals and morals, the same goals, the same heritage. Perhaps Ty-Lee smiled more than she, and perhaps she grumbled more than Ty-Lee, but beyond the surface, they were well-fitted.

Perhaps they weren’t two halves of the same coin, as the saying went, but Ty-Lee was the wood that stoked the blue fire, and Azula was the woman who would always watch her dance in front of it, and surely that was enough.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Ty-Lee disagreed before Azula had the chance to. Her hand found Azula’s under the table, and gave it a tight squeeze. Azula found herself smiling at her empty plate.

“Zuko, try not to cause any fights, dear. I know you don’t mean to, but you can be terribly brash.” Jin said playfully, before changing the subject. “You invited the boy, didn’t you? Is he not coming?”

“The boy?” This captured Azula’s attention. “You don’t mean Aohi, do you? Our training yesterday didn’t exactly—” Her voice was cut off by the sharp opening of the door.

A slender boy, with hollow cheeks and messy black hair, stood there. He didn’t smile, and he didn’t bow. When it was apparent that the boy was not to adhere to such courtesies, Zuko stood. Azula couldn’t help but think he was nothing like their father in that moment – he did not stand with the strength of the Fire Nation, but rather, with the kindness and poise of a good man.

“Aohi,” He said warmly. “Join us.”

“No.” Aohi spat.

“O-Oh.” Zuko let himself stutter before he could control it. An awkward habit he’d picked up in his teen years. “Well, of course, if you don’t wish to join us…”

A woman appeared from behind Aohi. She had soft and greying features, and wore the clothes that were typical of a maid. Azula recognised her as one of the maid’s assigned to care for Aohi. “Aohi, you must eat something tonight.” She pleaded. It was quietly done, but the silence in the room meant everyone heard her. In fact, it was like her voice echoed off the plates in front of them.

Aohi glared at her angrily, before his body slumped. “Fine.” He muttered. “I am hungry.”

And he must have been, to admit it like that. Azula watched him cautiously as he came to sit across from her, and next to Jin. His eyes didn’t dart to her even once – they stayed pressed against Zuko, who, at the foot of the table, watched the scene unfold with a gentle expression. Some days Azula wondered if he was truly Ozai’s son, and not Iroh’s.

The food came shortly after, and it was mainly Jin and Ty-Lee that did the speaking. Zuko chipped in occasionally, but his eyes, like Azula’s, kept glancing over to Aohi. His were more filled with concern than Azula’s though. Azula was just cautious. She knew that Aohi wasn’t safe to sit with; she hadn’t been safe when she was his age.

“This is great.” Ty-Lee praised, taking another bite of her dish. “Isn’t this good, Baby?”

Before Azula could reply, Aohi had scoffed from where he sat across from them. Both women looked to him in mild surprise. His face was contorted into an awful smirk, as if he was disgusted. He wasn’t a homophobe, was he? Azula didn’t know if she could deal with that, on top of everything else.

“It’s lovely.” Azula replied, still watching Aohi.

Ty-Lee gave her fiancé a questioning look, but said nothing.

“Do you like it, Aohi?” Jin asked, obviously noticing the interaction as well. Zuko gave his consort a look, but Jin promptly ignored him.

“The food is very nice, thank you.” He said. Azula was surprised he’d said something so pleasant. “The same can’t be said for the company.”

Ah.

Silence fell over the room. Awkward, awkward silence. Zuko coughed, clearly unable to handle it.

“Listen, if you have a problem with me,” Azula piped up, assessing that the only way to handle the situation was head-on, “Then it’s best if you just say something.”

Aohi stared at her incredulously. He tilted his head to the side, as if he was trying to work out whether Azula was being honest or not. Then, he stood up. Abruptly. Sending the chair behind him crashing to the floor. The noise ricocheted around the room like a haywire boomerang.

“I have no problem with you, _Master._ ” The way he said the last word made Azula think otherwise. “My problem is with her!” And with that, he extended his gnarled finger towards Ty-Lee.

“With… _Me?_ ” Ty-Lee spluttered.

Azula too, looked to her fiancé in surprise. “What did you do?” She asked dumbly.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“I can’t stand this for another minute!” Aohi yelled, his face directed brutally towards the floor. “Not for another minute!” And once more, Azula watched as her apprentice dashed out of the room and down the corridor.

“He better not burn down the palace.” Jin said defeatedly. “We just got the west quarter repainted.”

“If he does, you can blame me.” Azula said quickly, coming to her feet. She pressed a quick kiss to the parting of Ty-Lee’s hair. “I will be right back. Hopefully with the degenerate.”

“You shouldn’t call him that.” Ty-Lee said, but she was smiling.

Azula found Aohi in the gardens. He was shooting small blue flames at the turtle ducks in the pond. It was the first time that Azula had seen his blue fire, and she was somewhat glad to know it was a little lighter than hers. She was sure that that meant the pain in his heart wasn’t as bad as hers had been. Again, she found herself wondering just what had happened to the boy.

“Hey.” She called.

He looked up, his face darkening when he saw her. She approached him, and he stood where he was, completely unmoving and balanced on his heels. She was glad she didn’t have to chase him.

“Hey, Aohi. What was that?” She asked, when she finally got close to him. The boy said nothing, scuffing his shoes against the dirt. She grabbed his shoulder and brought him forwards a bit, stopping his feet. “Don’t do that, you’ll ruin your shoes.”

“Like you care.” He mumbled.

Wasn’t this boy a little too young to be having an emo stage? Then again, Zuko had his for about four years straight.

“I do care.” Azula said. “Now, would you like to tell me why you don’t like my fiancé?”

“Fiancé?” He asked, his voice quivering. “She agreed to marry you?”

“Actually, I agreed to marry her.” Azula said, smiling at the memory of that morning. “But yes.”

“Hmph.”

“Does it bother you, that we’re both women?” Azula asked carefully.

The boy looked up at her in bewilderment. “What? No! I don’t hate the gays.”

“Oh, okay.” Azula wasn’t sure about his wording, but he was young and the sentiment was clear. “So, what’s the issue, buddy?”

“How could she love you.” He said quietly.

Not a question, and Azula immediately knew what he was upset about. Sympathy flooded through her like a broken reservoir.

Without her own control, she leant forward and pulled the boy into a sharp hug. He didn’t resist it, which surprised her, but he didn’t reach around and hug her back. He just sat in her arms limply, like a leaf.

“I used to wonder that.” She whispered, so he could hear her. “I used to wonder that every day.”

She let him go.

“And you don’t anymore?”

“Not at all.” She shook her head. “We all deserve love. Even monsters like you and me.”

Aohi snickered. “Who said I think I’m a monster?”

“Don’t you?”

His face fell.

Azula bent down on one knee, her face catching the boy’s attention. His face was a lot like hers, maybe not appearance-wise, but something in his eyes… It reminded her vehemently of herself.

“You aren’t, you know?” She said seriously. “You’re not a monster, even if someone told you that you were. Even if you tell yourself you are, every day. You’re just a boy, that had monstrous things happen to him.”

“Really?” Aohi asked.

“Mhm.” She nodded. “And maybe you’ve done monstrous things, too. I know I have. I’ve done more monstrous things than you can count on both hands.” She grimaced. “But… But that doesn’t matter, because I’ve owned up to them, I’ve accepted that I will always have to live with them, and I’ve moved on.” She patted the top of his head. “And you can do the same.”

“I can?” He whispered.

“Of course. And I’ll help you, if you like.”

Aohi sniffed. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe.”

They stood in comfortable silence, broken only by the croaking crickets.

“Do I have to apologise to your woman?” He asked. Azula laughed lightly.

“Well, it would be a good start.” She said. “Come on, shall we go back?”

They went back in silence. Azula wasn’t sure if the boy was taking in the night air the same way she was, indulging in the bright skies above them and the sounds of the world buzzing in the distance, but she hoped he was. They opened the door to the dining room, and were surprised to see that the food was gone, replaced by an array of desserts. Azula hadn’t realised they’d been gone so long.

“I’m sorry!” Aohi yelled immediately, bowing his head down low.

Everyone stared up at him in complete shock, and Azula couldn’t help but feel a small bit smug. She knew they hadn’t expected much from her, but she’d still delivered.

Ty-Lee was the first to react, slowly approaching the boy. She looked down at him, softness in her eyes. It was the same softness that Azula had used to hate – used to think she didn’t deserve at all. But what was there to _deserve_ about another person looking at you?

“It’s okay.” She said gently. “I forgive you.”

Aohi looked up in surprise. “You… You do?”

Something clenched in Azula’s chest. She wondered if people had accepted his apologies often, when he’d done them before. She wondered if he had ever done them before.

“I do.” Ty-Lee nodded, smiling up at Azula. “Am I okay to hug you?”

Aohi launched himself forward instead of replying, wrapping his arms around Ty-Lee’s middle. “Yes.” He muffled into her stomach. Azula giggled at the boy, a reaction which caused all three grown-ups to look at her in surprise.

“What?” She demanded.

“That was so…” Zuko couldn’t find the word.

“Girly.” Jin finished, wearing a mischievous smile.

Azula crossed her arms in annoyance. “Whatever.”

Ty-Lee, with Aohi still pressed to her stomach, wrapped an arm around Azula’s waist and placed a kiss to her cheek. “I love you.” She whispered.

“I love you too.”

Aohi poked his head up. “That’s so gross.” He said, but his eyes shined with admiration.

_Azula entered Ty-Lee’s bedroom proudly, though her front still stung from the light burning she’d endured the day before, at the hands of her doting father. She understood why he had done it – he had needed to. She’d been deceived, and worse, it was by herself._

_“Oh, Azula! I didn’t know you were coming over.” Ty-Lee was sat at her desk, doodling. She clearly wasn’t studying – she very rarely studied, and was often bottom of the class – and this only solidified Azula’s resolve._

_“I have come to announce something of royal importance.” Azula said, standing at the doorway. She dare not enter. There were a lot of memories inside this room, and some she would rather forget forever. Especially now that they could never be repeated._

_“Sure.” Ty-Lee hopped off her seat with a spring in her step, and danced over to Azula. Her bright smile was intoxicating and Azula had to look away._

_“The thing is.” She said, as Ty-Lee brought their hands together. The touch was distracting._

_“The thing is…?” Ty-Lee giggled, leaning forward and kissing Azula’s cheek. This was going far worse than she originally thought it would have._

_“Ty-Lee, stop.” Azula ordered, and immediately Ty-Lee broke apart from her. She watched as the girl tried to conceal her hurt expression._

_“Sorry.” She said softly._

_“No, it’s okay—” Azula cut herself off, and addressed Ty-Lee more appropriately. “Just, don’t do it again.”_

_“Oh… Okay.” Ty-Lee said dejectedly. She moved to sit on her bed, looking at Azula expectantly. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”_

_“I am to be wed in a year.” Azula said it in one go, and even she didn’t like the way the words tasted on her tongue. Ty-Lee’s eyes widened for a moment, before her head sunk to the ground._

_“I see.”_

_“So, of course, we cannot continue kissing and… And…” Azula didn’t know how to finish that sentence. ‘And having feelings for each other’ didn’t sound right. It was weak. She wasn’t weak. She didn’t_ have _feelings for Ty-Lee._

_“And what?” Ty-Lee asked._

_“Ty-Lee, please.” Azula’s voice broke, and it filled her with self-loathing._ She wasn’t weak!

_“Fine.” Ty-Lee whispered. “You can leave now.”_

_“Ty-Lee…”_

_“I said you can leave.”_

_“We are still best friends, are we not?” Azula asked. “Do not talk to me in such a way.”_

_“You don’t get to say how I’m allowed to talk to you!” Ty-Lee’s face shot up, and there were tears brimming in her eyes. Azula couldn’t look at that – wouldn’t subject herself to it – so she forced herself to look away._

_“I see.” She said. “Well, then I shall be leaving.”_

_“Azula, wait!” Ty-Lee sprang up again, and grabbed Azula forcefully by the arms. “You don’t have to, you know?”_

_“I… What? You just told me to go?”_

_“Just because your dad wants you to… You don’t have to marry someone else! You can come with me, and we can run away, and I’ve already found this circus that needs dancers and—”_

_“Ty-Lee.” Azula said coldly. “I don’t have to do anything at all, but I want to.”_

_“You mean, your father wants you to! Don’t you see, he’s manipulating you!”_

_“No, he would never do that.” Azula shook her off. “I am his last child, and he is not my mother. He only ever wants what is best for me.”_

_“What is best for him!”_

_“You have to shut up, now, before I am forced to apprehend you.” Azula yelled, raising her voice higher than she ever had with Ty-Lee._

_Ty-Lee’s features froze over, before she let go and gave Azula a stiff nod._

_“Okay.” She whispered. “Good bye, Azula.”_

Her therapist nodded sympathetically whilst Azula cried.

“It’s okay, dear, just let it all out.” She encouraged, and so Azula did. The therapist and Azula had only met a couple of times, and always by strict appointment. Needless to say, the Firelord’s younger sister was given a thorough service.

“And… _And_ I thought that was okay! I loved her, and I still did that to her!” Azula sobbed. The therapist let out a long sigh, before sitting back in her own seat.

“You understand, though, that your father is who influenced you to do it? You are accountable for your actions Azula, but you aren’t accountable for your influences.”

Azula wiped her face quickly, a little embarrassed that she’d let herself cry so spontaneously. “I suppose.” She muttered.

“You told me last week, that your father often told you stories? Mythology, I believe.” Azula nodded along, hardly listening. Her lap was soaked. This was humiliating. “Well, did he tell you any regarding what love is like? I know there are quite a few.”

“Love?”

“And not like Kiyohime’s story, either. Real love.” The therapist clarified.

“Uh…” Azula was stumped. She didn’t think there was any such story like that in her childhood. There was no purpose to such a story, after all. “No, I don’t think so.”

“So, it would be fair to say that your father didn’t want you to have that real love, maybe?”

“No, he definitely didn’t.” Azula said with a dark laugh. “You know as well as I do what he wanted.”

“The Fire Nation to rule the world.” The therapist nodded. “I have no doubt about that. But you were his daughter. Surely you were of some value to him? Surely, he wanted you to have that happy love story?”

“I think you overestimate his fathering skills.” Azula said flatly. “He told me a story once about a woman who seduces men, who was actually a demon made of spiders. Or was a big spider, something like that.”

“Oh, I see. Jorogumo, right?”

Azula was surprised she’d known the name of the tale. Perhaps she’d done some research in between sessions, since the stories her father had told her often came up. “Yes.”

“Well, I don’t see why that’s appropriate at all for a child.” She laughed, but Azula didn’t. The therapist soon stopped; the room turning very stale.

“I think,” Azula broke the silence, “He told me that story, so I would think _seducing_ someone was wrong. Demon-like. But I really can’t pretend to know his intentions.”

“You can’t.” The therapist agreed. “But I think your judgement is quite fair.”

“I’m not the victim, you know?” Azula said at once. The thought had been brewing in her mind ever since she’d started coming to these sessions. Every time the therapist looked at her with even mild sympathy, the thought plagued her. “I’m not the victim.”

“Did it occur to you,” The therapist said slowly, “That perhaps there’s not just one victim? That maybe, everyone involved was a victim in their own way. I find a lot of these things aren’t in black and white. Not in a war.”

Azula nodded. She understood what the therapist was saying. Some things were grey.

“Okay.” She muttered, and the therapist smiled.

“I think that’s our time for today. Thank you for coming to see me yourself. My schedule isn’t so busy, since I mainly do royals and officials, so you’re free to see me anytime.”

Azula would never come before the next enforced session, but the sentiment was kind.

Azula entered the apartment feeling a little better than when she exited it.

The memories of her and Ty-Lee, from when they were younger, faded and faded more and more every day. The only problem was, the ones she wanted to forget the most, seemed to be as stark as ever.

“Hey, Baby.” Ty-Lee greeted, kissing Azula on the cheek as she went passed. She was carrying a steaming pot, walking from the kitchen to the small dining area.

“Hey.” Azula smiled. “You cooked?”

“Jin helped over the phone.” Ty-Lee giggled. “C’mon, it’s like, a date night!”

Azula smiled despite herself. “Okay, let me clean up first.”

She entered their bedroom and dressed accordingly; a red shirt with black slacks, and fluffy socks since it was only Ty-Lee. Her hair was put up in a top knot (though not the honourable kind), and she applied a little bit of makeup – and took off the mascara that she’d smudged earlier that day.

“You look good.” Ty-Lee said with a giggle, coming up behind Azula and wrapping her arms around her waist. She pressed a kiss to Azula’s neck. “You’d look better without the shirt, though.” She whispered.

Azula giggled, turning her head to kiss Ty-Lee.

“How was therapy?” Ty-Lee asked, changing the subject whilst she picked out a skirt to go over with her loose blouse.

“Good.” Azula said with a smile. “It’s getting easier and easier as each session goes by.”

Ty-Lee smiled. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

Azula couldn’t help but frown. “Maybe you shouldn’t be.”

Ty-Lee shrugged. “But I am. Now come on, let’s eat.”

They ate in relative silence, but Azula could see that Ty-Lee was distracted. She kept looking to Azula, then quickly looking towards her food and blushing. Azula raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure they were passed this point in their relationship? In fact, they’d never really had that stage. It was best friends, then lovers on the down low, and then a whole load of mess, and then lovers again. No time for awkwardness, really.

The candles danced on the table. “Babe, what’s wrong?” Azula asked. She noticed that they were blue flames. She must have used the fire from the fireplace to light the candles, then. Ty-Lee had always been partial to the blue fire, even if Azula couldn’t stand the sight of it at times.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Ty-Lee mumbled.

“You’ve never been a good liar.” Azula folded her arms and stared pointedly at her fiancé.

“Well…” Ty-Lee said with a shy smile. “I’ve been thinking about something.”

“About _something?”_ Azula raised an eyebrow.

“About us.”

“Oh.” A sense of dread filled Azula’s chest. Was Ty-Lee sick of her? Was she finally ready to throw Azula aside?

“It’s nothing bad!” Ty-Lee said quickly, noticing Azula’s expression. “It was just about our… uhm, marriage.”

“Our… marriage.”

“Yes, our marriage. Well, more specifically,” She laughed awkwardly. “The wedding.”

“Oh, the wedding.” Azula said with a smile. She’d been thinking about this quite a bit. “You should have just said. Shall I get my folder?”

Ty-Lee’s jaw almost hit the table.

“Your… Folder?”

“Mhm.” Azula grinned. “I’ve been planning my wedding since I was eight. It was royal family tradition, after all, but… Well, I’m not sure my father would have approved of such planning. I kept it secret.”

She kept the black folder, decorated with fire-nation army and unicorn stickers, underneath their shared bed. Up to that point, she’d never shown Ty-Lee because frankly, a lot of it was quite embarrassing, and she had never wanted Ty-Lee to get the wrong impression. Just because Ty-Lee proposed to Azula didn’t mean she wanted to get married _right away_. Or maybe she wanted a small wedding! She wasn’t going to force her dreams of grandeur onto her pretty little Ty-Lee.

Azula just hadn’t wanted to assume.

“Here it is.” She said with a half-laugh. The folder hit the table with a thump.

Ty-Lee was looking at Azula like she was the whole Milky Way.

“What?” Azula muttered.

“I love you.”

“What? Shush, you.” Azula grinned, opening the folder and flicking to the first page. “Do you want to wear a dress or a suit?”

Ty-Lee stood up from her seat and walked slowly to where Azula was stood, swaying her hips. Leaning over, she closed the folder with the tips of her fingers. The cover hit the pages with a thud.

“What…?” Azula turned to Ty-Lee in surprise. “We only just started.”

“Kiss me right now.” Ty-Lee ordered, grabbing Azula’s face with both her hands and pulling them together. Azula was surprised, but quickly sank into the kiss, relishing the familiar sweet taste of her fiancé’s lips.

“What… Brought… This on?” She spoke between kisses, as Ty-Lee’s hands began to roam under the flaps of her now-untucked shirt.

“I am just, super in love with you.” Ty-Lee giggled. “And wedding talk… _Oh.”_ She gasped when Azula began kissing down her neck, her strong arms bringing Ty-Lee even closer. “…Wedding talk is such a turn on.”

“Is it?” Azula mused, a smirk on her face as she began to kiss down the exposed part of Ty-Lee’s neck. “You should take this shirt off.”

“Why don’t you?”

Azula looked up at her and smiled mischievously. “Don’t you like it?”

Ty-Lee smiled back. “It’s not my favourite.”

Azula’s hands burnt blue, destroying the fabric that it touched, and after a few seconds leaving Ty-Lee completely naked on her top half. “Good.” Azula said, staring at Ty-Lee’s now-exposed breasts. The pink nipples were already hard against the cool air. “No bra today?”

Ty-Lee giggled, kissing Azula again. She would never get used to how Ty-Lee’s hands felt in her hair. “I guess I didn’t feel like it.” She murmured.

“Ah, okay.” Azula hummed, moving her hands over the soft mounds of flesh and squeezing gently. Ty-Lee arched forward into her touch, gasping lightly. The firebender leant forwards and placed kisses over her neck and collar bones, enjoying the way Ty-Lee writhed in her hands.

She was so lucky to be spending her life with this woman.

“Azula, you too...” Ty-Lee whined, pulling at Azula’s shirt. Obediently, Azula slipped it off and let it hit the wooden floor beneath them. Hot, open-mouthed kisses trailed down her neck, and she giggled at the touch, Ty-Lee’s hand on her hips.

“You’re cute.” Azula mumbled, catching Ty-Lee’s mouth with her own.

“Why, thank you.” Ty-Lee smiled into the kiss, before moving her mouth down Azula’s chin and neck, to the top of her collarbone. Azula let out a gentle breath of air, scrunching her hands in Ty-Lee’s loose braid.

“Good girl.” Ty-Lee hummed, undoing her fiancé’s bra and letting it drop to the floor. “So good for me…” Azula felt her stomach do somersaults. She swivelled and positioned herself so she was pressed against the table, and with a helpful push from her fiancé, Azula’s ass found itself on the wood. Hands grabbed the flesh just above there, and Azula let out another gasp, slightly louder.

Ty-Lee kissed her on the mouth quickly, before asking, “Do you want to?”

“Mhm.” Azula nodded, and for a moment she hated how eager and vulnerable she seemed. Then she remembered that it was Ty-Lee, and that she had nothing at all to be vulnerable about.

“I love you.” Ty-Lee said, and it was exactly what Azula needed to hear.

“I love you back, Lee.” She smiled, kissing Ty-Lee’s temple. “You are my world.”

Ty-Lee pulled back, seemingly looking for something in Azula’s eyes. After a moment, they softened. She kissed the tip of her fiancé’s nose lightly. “And you mine. Would you like to do it like this, Baby?”

Azula hummed, before nodding.

“Okay.” Ty-Lee smiled, kissing her one final time before resting her chin on Azula’s shoulder. Her hand found it’s way to Azula’s knee, and slowly she caressed the skin there, enjoying the way Azula keened forward. “Don’t be so eager, Baby.”

“Ty-Lee…” Azula groaned.

Ty-Lee’s hand made it’s way up her thigh a little further, though a close friend could have laid their hand there and Azula would have thought nothing of it. She needed it higher, craved it. Her body was pulsing for Ty-Lee already, and she’d hardly been touched.

“What do you need, Zula?” Ty-Lee giggled. She always enjoyed seeing her fiancé like this, and they both knew it.

“You know what I need.” It almost came out as a groan, but Azula supressed it.

“I do.” Ty-Lee kissed her cheek, moving her hand up further. It was now at least in the _region_ of Azula’s centre, but she couldn’t feel the warmth of her hand there yet. She was circling the skin with a feather-light touch, torturously. “But I want to hear you say it. To be on the safe side.”

“I _need…_ ” Azula groaned, as Ty-Lee’s hand inched closer and closer to her core. “ _Please…_ ” God, she hated saying that stupid word, but the reaction it spurred out of Ty-Lee made it worth it. “Please fuck me.”

“There’s a good girl.” Ty-Lee smiled, kissing Azula’s forehead before finally attaching the pads of her fingers to the hood of Azula’s clit. Her eyes darkened, watching Azula squirm and moan quietly into the touch. “Be as loud as you want.” She ordered. “I want to hear it, Baby.”

Even when she was dominating, Ty-Lee was so kind to her. So soft. Azula didn’t deserve it, but she wanted to. She wanted to, desperately.

She moaned as Ty-Lee picked up the pace. It wasn’t much contact, but they didn’t do this very often and Azula was always so sensitive after being teased – and praised. Ty-Lee continued to kiss and compliment her, as her fingers ran up and down her folds, and Azula moaned all the more for it, the warmth in her chest reaching impossible summits.

“Inside.” She whispered.

“Are you sure?” Ty-Lee mumbled. “We don’t have to. It can just be like this, if that’s easier.”

Azula liked to be treated like something delicate. With Ty-Lee, she wasn’t a firebending monster or a war criminal, or even that bitch from the academy. She was just a girl. Better yet, she was the girl that Ty-Lee loved.

“I want it... From you… Please…” She whispered through pants.

Ty-Lee smiled at her softly, pressing her fingers to Azula’s entrance. Azula didn’t always find penetration pleasurable, but Ty-Lee always tried to make it good, and right now, Azula _wanted_ it.

“C’mon.” She whined, grinding her hips forward.

Ty-Lee kissed Azula’s forehead whilst she put in her first finger. It took a brief second for Azula’s inside to stretch around it, but once she had, she was pushing forwards with all her might, Ty-Lee’s knuckle pressed against her vulva. “Love you…” she groaned.

“Heh.” Ty-Lee giggled, kissing Azula’s neck as she slowly brought the finger in and out of Azula’s warmth, creating a slick noise from the moisture down there. “I love you too, Zula.”

“More… More, please.”

“Well, since you’re being so polite.”

Ty-Lee inserted another finger and let Azula continue to move forwards, going at her own pace, her hands gripping the back of Ty-Lee’s head. The tension in her stomach had become a full-on pressure, and Azula was starting to feel the warmth of an incoming orgasm, the electricity, spread through her lower half.

“I love you…” She muttered, so Ty-Lee would say it back. She’d never get tired of hearing it. Not from the girl who Azula had always wanted, always cared for. She needed to hear it, just to make herself believe it was true.

“I love you, too, Baby. You’re close, hm?” Ty-Lee hummed, her other hand behind Azula’s back, keeping her upright.

“Yes… Close…” Azula groaned, pushing her hips forward one last time before inviting Ty-Lee to finish her, using her hand to guide Ty-Lee’s motions. “Please…”

“Okay, just for you.” Ty-Lee whispered, speeding up her pace and thrusting into Azula with a little more force – never too much. Never, ever too much.

The pressure in Azula’s crotch multiplied tenfold, and soon she was filled with that white, orgasmic heat. She groaned, burying her face into Ty-Lee’s shoulder as she moved through the motions, and Ty-Lee kissed her and told her how beautiful she was the whole time.

Once she was done, the two of them lowered onto the dining table, suitably unclothed, the folder of wedding planning next to Azula’s head.

“Oh, and I want to wear a dress, I think.” She whispered. Azula kissed the side of her head, the dining table creaking uncomfortably beneath them. The perfect wedding, and Ty-Lee in her perfect dress.

Azula smiled.

“Me too.”

Aohi waved at Azula as she came into the training room. Azula smiled at him warmly, the scrawny boy already eagerly bounding to his feet from his seat on the floor.

“Excited?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Not much else to do here.”

Azula rolled her eyes. Zuko kept the palace in its most boring form possible. Pai Sho was the most interesting game around, and it was _Pai Sho._

“Tell me about it.” She said. “We should start with some stances. Always best to learn right.”

“Yes, okay.” The boy hummed.

Even upon entering the room, Azula could feel his fire. It was like hers – perhaps not as strong as she had been in her prime, but the same animosity and pain fuelled it. She just _knew._

He took off his black shirt to train, revealing a series of large scars. Azula let out a soft breath of air, but looked away before he might perceive her as impolite. She too removed her outer shirt, so that she was clad in just a white vest and training pants. Aohi didn’t inspect her scars in the way she’d inspected him – or perhaps she simply didn’t notice him doing so.

“Are you ready?” She asked. “Horse stance. Ten minutes.”

Aohi lowered his body into the stance immediately, and unlike previous attempts, the positioning of his feet and torso was nearly perfect. She couldn’t help but smile.

“You’ve been practising.” She said, as she adjusted his feet and abdomen slightly. The boy turned to her, unsmiling, before nodding.

Despite his cold attitude, Azula could tell that something had shifted within him. Perhaps their moment at the dinner had done Aohi more good than he let on.

“May I ask you a question?”

Aohi turned to her curiously, his stance remaining intact. He nodded.

“Your fire… Will you tell me how you got it?”

Azula didn’t know if this civil Aohi would last, and if there would ever be a better time to ask. She also didn’t know if he would respond well to this question, but it was a risk her burning curiosity was forcing her to take.

“My fire.” He said flatly, turning back towards the wall. “So, you wish to know how it became blue, then.”

It wasn’t a question. Perhaps he had suspected that she did; who wouldn’t, in all fairness?

“I do.” She said.

“Why?”

“I just… Do.”

“I’m sure it’s similar to how you got yours.” He said. “Why pry?”

“I am your teacher, and we are simply the only two of our kind. That is why I wanted to know. If you don’t wish to tell me, I cannot force you.” Azula said calmly.

“Fine.” He said, breaking his stance and turning to look at her. “I got my fire at the same time I got most of these scars. My father bestowed them onto me, and he gave me the flame. One of his many gifts.” There was spite in his voice. Fiery spite; spite Azula recognised all too well. Perhaps they would need someone to talk to Aohi – someone who knew a little more about the child’s mind than she did.

“I see.” Azula said. “He hurt you?”

“He told me he was making me strong.” Aohi said flatly. “And he did. The means that he took to arrive there were inconsequential.”

“You believe that, still?” Azula asked.

Aohi’s flat face faltered, but he smiled smally. “I was trained to believe that. I find it hard not to.”

“I understand.” Azula said. “I was trained, told over and over, that the Fire Nation were bringing peace and prosperity to the world. I even believed it when I watched people die at my hand, begging for their life. It is hard to go against what you believe.”

Aohi looked at her for a long moment. “I have killed as well.” He said.

“Hm?” Azula did not stare at him with judgement, for she was no hypocrite.

“I thought that was what the blue flames were.” Aohi continued. “The colour your fire turns when you take a life. But the others… Well, I watched them kill, and their flames stayed red. So I realised it wasn’t that.”

“Who are the others?” Azula asked at once. She was eager to find out about Aohi’s past. The boy had revealed very little, and if he wanted to tell her such a story, he had better fill in the details.

Her impatient nature had never left her, not after the years of non-war criminal behaviour, not after the therapy sessions. Maybe that was just who she was, and she was becoming okay with that – there were worse flaws to have after all. If she had Zuko’s painful awkwardness, she might go back to being a criminal, for that would be a fate worse than prison.

“The other children my father found.” Aohi said. His voice was emotionless. “They weren’t like me, though. I was his only real son. Blood son.”

“He found other children? Who was your father?”

“Dead.” Was how Aohi responded. “He is dead, now, so it matters not.”

Azula sighed. She supposed he was right. “And he took firebending children without their permission? Made them kill people?” She asked. Aohi nodded. “Like a small legion, then. Or a group of assassins.”

Aohi’s father and Azula’s father probably would have gotten along just fine.

“Oh, no.” Aohi shook his head. “My mistake. My father didn’t make us kill other people. Just each other.”

“Just… Each other?” Azula’s eyes widened slightly.

“I say the scars are from my father,” Aohi sighed, running his hand over the reddish mark on his neck. “I suppose that’s a lie. But he told them to do it. It is the same difference, in my opinion.”

“For what purpose was he doing this?” Azula demanded. “Are their other men like him? Tell me at once.” She felt a fire burn on the surface of her skin that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Pure anger, and anger that wasn’t directed at herself. Blue wisps danced on the tips of her arm hair.

“No, I don’t believe so.” Aohi seemed unphased. “My father was insane, you see. He just needed help. But help didn’t come in the war, or afterwards, and so he died.”

“This was in the war? You would have been…?”

“Four or five at the worst of it.” Aohi shook his head. “But this isn’t what I realised about the fire.”

“The… fire? Oh, the blueness.” Azula frowned.

Upon reflection, she had never thought about _why_ her fire was blue. Once upon a time, she’d been convinced it was because her flame was hotter than everyone else’s – like the hottest part of a lit candle. But that was wishful thinking.

After that, she’d thought her fire was because of her anger, and the blue remained because the anger had made space for it, even if it had long since cleared out of her chest.

“The fire is blue when you know nobody loves you. Not even yourself.” Aohi said with a sad smile. “It was when my father replaced me as his favourite. When I lost, for the first time. After that, my flames turned blue. And they never turned back.”

“They never turned back.” Azula whispered. Hers hadn’t either. The absence of love? That possibility had never even crossed her mind.

“I never lost again though.” Aohi said, and his voice was filled with a sick smugness. He turned back to face the wall.

Azula strained with all her might to remember the first time she’d seen the blue in her fire.

_Azula ran from her father, as fast as her legs could carry her. It was no use of course – it was never any use. She was just a child, and he was a fully-grown man, a trained athlete, and a master of firebending._

_“Child!” He roared, and she came to an abrupt stop. He grabbed her by her topknot and yanked her towards the door. “Inside, now!”_

_“I didn’t mean to!” She said._

_Ozai sneered at her. “Are you a liar, too, as well as a treasonous brat?”_

_They’d been sitting at the dinner table, saying their prayer to the Firelords and to the nation. Azula was a mischievous child, and she’d thought of an incredibly funny joke. Zuko had told her not to, that she was foolish if she did it, which made it all the more tempting. They’d finished the prayer, and were saying their final blessings to Agni, when Azula forced out a loud yawn._

_The table had frozen over. Azula had burst out into laughter, only for her father to slam his palm against the table, and raise from the table with the strength of one thousand rising suns._

_And that was how Azula had found herself in the small, stone room. The one he kept for torture. The one he’d never even taken Zuko into. The room was decorated with nothing but boxes of clutter and charred walls._

_“Turn around.” He commanded. “And remove your shirt._

_She did as she was told._

_For a second, she thought he was to do nothing. Shivering, bare, in front of him was punishment enough, perhaps. But when had it ever worked like that? Humiliation was never enough, not for him._

_He pressed his foot to her back, hot as the blacksmith’s tools, and Azula cried out in agony._

_“You shall always act like a Princess.” He snarled, lashing her with a streak of flames. Azula pressed her eyes closed, trying to hold in her tears. “Until I say you are not one.”_

_The torture lasted less than ten minutes, Azula was sure. Still, it felt like millennia._

_Finally, her father ceased, and she knew her back had been burnt to ribbons. Never her front though – she knew how her father felt about that._

_“What do you say, Azula?” He demanded, taking a step towards the door._

_“Thank you for teaching me, Sir.” She whimpered, and he let out a grunt._

_“I shall see you at breakfast.”_

_The door closed behind him. Azula knew it was unlocked, and that she could leave whenever she pleased, but she chose not to move. Instead, she lay there, and she shook._

_“Do not go in there.” It was a guard’s voice, from the corridor._

_“Hm?”_

_Her mother…? Had she come to see Azula? To comfort her, as she would when Zuko was harmed?_

_“The princess is in there.”_

_“She is? Oh, I’m sorry.” Her mother let out an awkward chuckle. “I’d assumed she’d left. The cleaner told me she left one of the old boxes in there, and I’m looking for Zuko’s hairbrush.”_

_Azula’s eyes filled with tears, and yet, she didn’t understand why._

_Her mother had never come to see her. Why would then be any different? Of course, her mother was tending to her son. Her only child, in her eyes. Azula remained cold and unloved, and she was truly understanding that now._

_Perhaps Ozai didn’t love her, but that was unimportant, because Azula saw what was important at last. He didn’t love her, but he wanted what was best for her, and she was going to make sure she delivered._

_Blue burnt on the surface of her skin. She hardly understood it, but she let it consume her in that tiny room of stone._

“Aohi. I have to go.” Azula said suddenly.

The boy turned to her in surprise. “Oh?” He paused again. “Why are you crying?”

“Crying?” Azula felt her cheeks. Her fingertips returned to her vision covered in a few drops of salted water. “Oh, uh. Lady issues.” She bumbled.

“Ah.” Aohi said, in total understanding, before returning to his horse stance. “I understand.”

Azula rushed from the room suddenly, her resolve completely clear. She knew what had to be done. She was selfish – impossibly selfish, for not doing it before.

She bust through the door into her apartment. It had taken her no time at all to get there. Ty-Lee was visiting her parents again that day, so the place would be empty. Azula was a selfish being, so that made it far easier. The idea of grey eyes crinkling in hurt was too much to bear.

Those grey eyes, she filed to the back of her mind.

_This is for her._

She found a duffel bag in the cupboard. It was what Ty-lee had used to take to gymnastics, and it smelled like her.

“Fine.” Azula muttered to herself. “But only that. Nothing else of hers.”

Shirts and bottoms, her passport, and anything else she might want to bring, was placed into the bag. It all took place within a few minutes – the quicker she got out of there, the better.

Briefly, she wondered where she’d go, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she protected the people she loved, and her presence was a risk to them.

After all, how could someone like she, love something harmlessly?

She’d already brought Ty-Lee so much pain over the years. This would hurt her too, probably. But that didn’t matter, because this would be the last time. If she stayed, there would be time after time after time.

The thought of growing old with Ty-Lee made her ache with longing, but the idea of Ty-Lee growing old with _her…_ She wanted better for the girl she loved. She wanted Ty-Lee to meet someone who would love her without effort, who hadn’t broken her heart before.

She wanted Ty-Lee to get what she deserved, and after everything, that could never be Azula.

_People don’t deserve people._

How wrong her precious girl had been. Ty-Lee must have convinced herself of that, simply so she could live on, alongside Azula. It was sad, when she thought about it for too long.

When she was ready to go, one foot through the door, she paused.

A note, right? The kind thing to do, would be to write a note.

_My love,_

_I have never loved anyone in the way I love you. It comes from a place of necessity and need. Unhealthy need, probably._

_You have probably already noticed that I am gone, for you are smart – far smarter than you’d ever let on. I love that about you. I love lots of things about you._

_You deserve to love someone who is good, and I am bad to my bones. It is in my blood, when you truly think about it. And there’s nothing one can do about the blood in their veins. Nothing before death, that is, and I’m too selfish to kill myself._

_I love you still, and I will love you always._

_Have your perfect wedding, with your perfect dress, with someone else._

_I hope you forget me quickly, and with little to no pain on your end. I pray for it._

_Forever yours, Azula._

She could not bring herself to think of Ty-Lee’s face when she would read the letter. She couldn’t bring herself to think of Ty-Lee at all, once she’d left the confines of the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeez how many times can two people say i love you


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no triggers in this one! just smiles :)

Ty-Lee had to read the letter three times before she understood what it meant. By the end of the fourth read, blobs of liquid were dripping off of her chin and onto the floor of their apartment. She would have wiped them away, but more came anyway. After she’d read it exactly seven and a half times (the half was somewhere between the third and fourth time, when she was so numb she couldn’t think properly), she scrunched the piece of paper into a ball and threw it into the nearby bin.

“That damn _fool._ ” She muttered, wiping at her face again. “Why does she have to be so stupid?”

It didn’t take her long to put on her Kyoshi warrior uniform. Practise made perfect, and in her case, she could fully suit up, makeup not included, in about five minutes on her own. Obviously, with someone else pulling the strings, it could take her as little as two minutes, but she didn’t have that luxury then. Her hands shook, but she dressed herself properly nevertheless.

It didn’t take her long to find Azula. She wasn’t sure if it was her own intuition, or if at that point, she had a sixth sense when it came to the firebender. Maybe a mix of both. Either way, she knew Azula couldn’t have gotten so far, and that she would be tired from training that day, so would have taken a break somewhere nearby. Probably not close enough to be recognised, though, and certainly not in the capital. That left one, very obvious place for her to be.

She stopped crying on the way, but her cheeks still felt raw against the cold night air, and she couldn’t stop herself from sniffing like a child. Ty-Lee knew she wouldn’t feel better till she retrieved her fiancé. The night was too cold for her own skin, but she hoped that the fire in Azula would keep her alive until she found her. At that point, she was fair game for her or the elements, and Ty-Lee intended to rip her stupid, beautiful head off.

There was a coastal town, close to the capital, that was an hour’s run away. Ty-Lee had never visited it, nor had Azula, but Zuko visited it often as it was where their mother resided. She knew very little of what Azula spoke about with her therapist (and she was more than okay with that, of course, because if anyone was entitled to their privacy it was Azula), but the very little that she _did_ know regarded Azula’s family and upbringing. If Azula was feeling enough inner turmoil to run away from home, from safety and from love, then logic would suggest that she was running towards the opposite – the strife.

And Azula’s mother was Azula’s strife, at least to her.

The town was empty, but that made sense. It was late at night, and if Zuko’s reports were accurate, it was a town largely inhabited by young, poor families. Something about fishing being easy work for the men, and the sea air being good for babies. Ty-Lee wasn’t sure if any of it was based in fact at all, but she knew what she saw, and what she saw were deserted streets.

She had no way to no which house belonged to Azula’s mother, but that didn’t matter. There were a trail of scorch marks that she was sure would lead her there. Her fingers touched the brunt ground cautiously, but it was cold.

However, instead of leading to one of the houses, the black, charred ground headed away from the centre of the small town, and led down towards the white sands of the beach, cutting off abruptly when it reached the sand, because of course, sand wouldn’t burn the same. Ty-Lee followed the path slowly, eyeing everything she passed, searching for clues about her fiancé. There wasn’t much – just one, burnt patch of grass, where a fireball had probably landed not too long ago.

Ty-Lee ran her fingers through the sand when she got to the beach, as if it would tell her where her fiancée went. It did, in a way. Footprints led to the shoreline, and she followed them till she found her.

“Azula.”

It came out less stern than she would have liked. She was meant to be reprimanding her silly woman, not showing her the stupid patch of vulnerability she’d created by leaving. Even if she didn’t mean it, even if she was hurting.

The girl turned around. She’d been sat, staring out to sea, wearing a red shawl that Ty-Lee didn’t recognise. A small, blue fire burned in front of her, but it was put out as soon as the firebender heard her name. Her face looked dishevelled, but unharmed. Ty-Lee let out a sigh of relief; at least she didn’t look hurt.

“There you are.” Ty-Lee said softly, her voice cracking. “I’m angry at you, you know?”

She was crying again. She hadn’t meant to. Ty-Lee was never emotional in this way. She was cheery and kind and loving – and it came as a two-sided coin, apparently. The tears burnt the backs of her eyes, and Azula was stood up in an instant, coming into her space like she’d never left in the first place. She moved Ty-Lee’s hands away from her face, and kissed her, lips on lips. It was surprising, and cold, and Ty-Lee sank into it without any hesitation.

“Hng?” Ty-Lee murmured, when Azula pulled back.

“Sorry. I thought I was never going to do that again.” Azula looked breathless. The reds of her eyes proved that she’d been crying. Ty-Lee let out a long sigh.

“You’re so stupid. Now tell me what happened?”

Azula frowned. “Must I?”

Ty-Lee’s hardened gaze was all the answer she needed.

“I can’t stop thinking about my past.” Azula turned her expression to the sky, probably because it made it easier to get the words out. As soon as Ty-Lee had gotten near to Azula, the air around her had become much warmer. She was a firebender, after all. “About all the badness there. I think I… I think I may have overreacted, though.”

“I’ll say.” Ty-Lee scoffed.

Azula stayed silent. Ty-Lee felt insecurity seep into her bones. Did Azula still want to…?

“You were going to leave me.” She said quietly. “Why? Don’t you love me anymore? Don’t you want to get married anymore? It’s okay if you don’t. I’ll be your friend again, if it’s what you want. I’ll even…” _Be your nothing_ , but Ty-Lee couldn’t get the words out, because she wasn’t sure if that was something she could do, and the last thing she wanted to say was a lie.

“I love you.” Azula said easily. “That’s what makes it hurt. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t worry about who I’m going to turn you into. What I’m going to ruin in you, that I haven’t already.”

Ty-Lee rolled her eyes. So, it was _that._ She’d been worried for nothing. This was something she knew how to resolve.

“You’re so dramatic, you know?” Her tone softened slightly. “I’m still me. I’m not going to be ruined, even by your _evil_ , _monster hands!_ ” She grabbed Azula by the elbows, tickling under her arms in a way she knew the firebender hated. Azula’s nose wrinkled as she tried to break free, shrieking in annoyance, causing Ty-Lee to burst out into laughter. Once the giggling had subsided, she kissed Azula again, with more force.

“I love you.” She whispered onto her lips. The kiss deepened, hands everywhere. Ty-Lee didn’t mind. Azula wasn’t broken, nobody was, not really, but she was going to have her breakdowns and her freak outs, and Ty-Lee was going to be there for her when she did. Azula would do the same for her, and said breakdowns were going to be fast-oncoming with her job. The least she could do was repay Azula in advance.

They were children of war. It was bound to happen. Ty-Lee had enough understanding in her heart for that. She kissed on.

“How can you love me?” Azula said, pulling back from the kiss suddenly. Ty-Lee’s mouth went cold far too quickly. “You know what I am, don’t you? You aren’t still disillusioned with me, like you were when you were fourteen? I’m… You know I’m not good, right?”

“I lost my rose-tinted glasses when I was fourteen. I know who you are. Good and bad, I know it all.” Ty-Lee laughed, kissing her Azula again, before pulling her up. “There’s a reason you came here. Let’s see it through, ‘kay? Then, I’ll take you home.”

“I’m already home.” Azula whispered, holding Ty-Lee that bit tighter. Ty-Lee pressed her eyes shut, revelling in all that had been gone from her for the last few miserable hours. She was reminded that she absolutely could not lose Azula. No matter how many times this stupid woman pushed her away, Ty-Lee loved her regardless, and her heart would never beat for anyone else. So, Azula wasn’t allowed to leave her, unless she really, truly had to.

Azula took Ty-Lee to her mother’s house. She wasn’t surprised that Azula knew which was hers. There was a chance that Azula had always known, or maybe she’d just found it on her way into the town that day. Either way, they were there.

“Are you scared?” Ty-Lee asked her.

Azula shook her head.

“Liar.” Ty-Lee whispered, clasping her hand around the shorter girl’s shoulder and pulling her against her side, tightly. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Let me go, Lee” Azula muttered, and Ty-Lee did, giggling, right before she knocked on the front door. Panic arose on Azula’s features, but a well-meant smile seemed to calm them. She was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

The door opened. Ty-Lee remembered Ursa from childhood, but between then and now, either she’d started to look a lot more like Azula, or vice versa.

“Azula.” Her mother said. Shock painted her features, but she composed herself. “At last. Come on in. There’s still food on the hob, if you’re hungry. And Ty-Lee! It has been too long, dear. Far too long.”

She hugged Ty-Lee first. It was probably illogical to do so, but Ty-Lee was sure it was so she could show Azula what was coming next. Ty-Lee bowed on her entrance, slipping off her shoes and politely stacking them with the others. She turned around in time to catch a terribly awkward embrace – Ursa held Azula tightly, and Azula didn’t hold her back at all. Her arms hung limply at her sides. Ty-Lee grit her teeth.

_It would be fine!_

“Mama, who’s that?” A small voice said from the doorframe adjoining the kitchen. Ty-Lee felt her heart sink. She had forgotten about Kiyi, Azula’s younger sister. She had forgotten her entirely. Seeing Azula’s mother hadn’t even been part of the plan, till she’d realised just where Azula had gone, and now they were throwing a child into the mix? It was a risk. Ty-Lee braced herself to make a quick exit.

“Oh, Kiyi. This is your big sister, Azula. Do you remember we spoke about her?” Azula’s mother said calmly. Maturely. There was something about her that seemed different from when she’d known her as a child, but Ty-Lee couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Despite Azula’s stories about her mother, Ty-Lee knew that Ursa, though certainly strict, and certainly more loving towards Zuko, had been feeling a lot of pressure to be something that no woman ever could. Being Ozai’s wife probably wasn’t easy. If Ty-Lee had to say what she thought had changed, she might say that the woman’s edges had softened. A little like Azula’s had.

“Oh, yeah.” Kiyi nodded. She had lighter hair than Azula, and darker eyes. Still, there was something familiar in the face. All Azula’s most gentle features were there. It was no mystery who the firebender had got her sharpness from, so Ty-Lee decided that Kiyi looking so soft made perfect sense.

Azula was still stood in silence. Her eyes were trained on Kiyi, but they held neither anger nor upset. Just curiosity.

Ty-Lee watched (a little smugly, if she was being honest, because before her this reaction would never have happened) as her fiancé took a deep breath in, and got down on one knee. “Hello, Kiyi.” She said with a forced smile. Kiyi didn’t seem to notice it, or if she did, mind it. “I’m sorry I’m so late visiting you. I’ve been very busy teaching.”

“You’re a teacher?” Kiyi asked. “That’s okay, then. Teachers work hard.”

“They do.” Ty-Lee agreed with a warm smile. Ursa looked utterly dumbstruck. Ty-Lee would probably feel the same way, if her estranged daughter showed up in the middle of the night with a pretty Kyoshi warrior, and not much else, and started being kind to her long-lost sister after a long history of being a straight up bitch. She couldn’t help but feel proud, because at least some of that was her influence.

“Would you like anything to eat?” Ursa asked again. Ty-Lee shook her head with a smile, but looked to see what Azula might say.

“I… Could eat.” She mumbled. Ursa clapped her hands together gently, before moving over to the hob and turning on the gas. Ursa wasn’t a firebender. That probably meant that Kiyi wasn’t, either.

“Kiyi, my dear, will you please go to bed. Azula will be here tomorrow…?” Ursa faded off, a question hanging in the air. She turned to face her oldest daughter.

“Yeah.” Sniffed Azula awkwardly. “I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Kiyi chimed.

“Ty-Lee, would you help put her to bed?” Ursa asked, shooting her a meaningful glance. Ty-Lee was about to offer she do that anyway, since she didn’t want to disturb her and Azula’s talk. She nodded politely, before chasing after a stomping Kiyi into the girl’s small bedroom.

In another universe, Ty-Lee might quite like to live on the coast. There was something terribly cosy about it. Kiyi looked bright and happy too, and it made Ty-Lee want a child a little bit. She doubted her and Azula would have kids, though. They had their hands full with Aohi.

“Get in bed, then.” She said to the little girl. She could hear mumbled voices from down the hall. They didn’t seem to be shouting, though, which relaxed Ty-Lee. Plus, she loved kids, and this one sort of looked like Azula if you ignored the colour pallet. She smiled to herself.

“You want a story?” She whispered to the girl. She’d already been wearing pyjamas, so all that was left was to pull the covers over her shoulders and tuck her in. Kiyi nodded frantically. “Okay, I’ll tell you a story. This is one from when I was your age.”

“Is it scary?” Kiyi whispered.

“No… No, it’s not scary.” She shook her head. “It’s about the beckoning cats you sometimes see in houses. You know, the ones with their paws up. Does that sound good?”

Kiyi nodded her head eagerly. “I don’t think I’ve heard this one.” She whispered, clearly aware of the voices in the background. Ty-Lee was sure that the girl had questions about her older sister, and _for_ her older sister, but Azula would answer them in due time and when she was ready. So, until then, Ty-Lee was going to pull out her pinkest aura and keep the child entertained.

“Well, it’s a folktale.” Ty-Lee explained with a smile. “When I was little, the only types of stories we were ever told were folktales. Trying to teach us lessons, and whatnot. Some of the stories were dreadfully boring,” _Or dreadfully dark,_ but Kiyi didn’t need to know that, “But my oldest sister would tell me this one sometimes, if I couldn’t get to sleep.”

“Will Azula tell me a story one day? Zuzu does sometimes.”

Ty-Lee smiled at the girl, running a hand through her bangs. She really did have Azula’s sweetest parts. All of the cuteness and none of the edge. “I’m sure she will.” Ty-Lee put a finger to her lips. “But you’ll have to ask her later.”

“Okay.” Kiyi whispered.

“So, this story is about the cat, like I said. A long time ago—”

“—How long?”

“Very, very long ago. Before we were born.” Ty-Lee giggled. “There was a very poor priest. He didn’t have much money, but he had plenty of kindness.”

“A good priest.” Kiyi surmised.

“Yes. A very good priest, and a good man too. Even though he was really poor, outside his house there would always be a white cat. Like the man, the cat was hungry, and even though the man didn’t have much food, he would always share it with the cat.”

“Sharing is caring.” Kiyi whispered, almost to herself. Ty-Lee smiled.

“One day, a different man was walking by the temple, and a storm suddenly broke out above him. He didn’t know what to do, so he took shelter under a big tree near the temple. He thought he would be safe there to wait out the storm. In fact, he almost fell asleep. That was, until he saw a little white cat near the temple, who was beckoning the man towards them. The man stared and stared at the cat, unable to believe his eyes, but there it was. Beckoning.” Ty-Lee demonstrated the beckoning gesture, and Kiyi giggled softly.

“He left the tree to follow the cat, and when he did, the tree was struck with lightning, sizzling to nothing.”

Kiyi let out a gasp. “The cat saved him! If he’d have stayed there, he would have died.”

“That’s right.” Ty-Lee nodded. “The cat saved him, and because of that the man, who turned out to be a wealthy noble, gave the temple lots of money. That poor priest, who always helped out the cat with food despite hardly having enough for himself, never went hungry again. The cat was kind to him, because he was kind to it.”

“Oh.” Kiyi nodded. “I see.”

“Do you get what that story is trying to say?” Ty-Lee asked.

“Mhm. Karma. If you’re kind to people, people will be kind to you.” Kiyi smiled broadly, and Ty-Lee tucked her in more snugly.

“That’s right. Will you go to sleep now?”

“Mhm.” Kiyi nodded.

“Quite a stark contrast to the stories I was told.” A voice came from behind them. Ty-Lee had been so preoccupied that she hadn’t noticed the voices in the kitchen had ceased. Azula, who looked considerably more relaxed than she had twenty minutes ago, was leant against the doorframe. Her eyes looked soft, but maybe it was just the dim lighting of the room.

“Zula?” Kiyi whispered.

Azula’s eyes widened a fraction. She probably wasn’t expecting to having such a nickname, and Ty-Lee found herself stifling a giggle as Azula approached the child’s bed and knelt next to it. “Yes, it’s me.” She said.

“Oh…” Kiyi cast her eyes over to Ty-Lee, who nodded in encouragement. “Will you… Tell me a story one day?”

Azula smiled. “In a few days, your family… I mean, your mother and father and you, well…” She looked to really be struggling, but Ty-Lee couldn’t help but find it endearing. “You’re going to come to the palace for a little trip, all right? And if you want, I’ll tell you a story every night.”

 _“Really?_ ” Kiyi’s eyes widened in excitement. “Every night?”

“Mhm.” Azula nodded, and to everyone’s complete shock, probably even her own, Azula leant down further and pressed a quick kiss to Kiyi’s hairline. “Now please. I’d like you to sleep.”

Kiyi nodded, promptly closing her eyes. Azula looked towards Ty-Lee, and indicated that they should leave the room. Ty-Lee nodded, taking Azula by the hand, which was as warm as it had always been, and guided the two into the corridor.

“I told you not all stories are bad, you know? Just the ones you were told.” Ty-Lee said with a soft smile. They had more pressing matters to discuss, and they both knew it, but for that moment Ty-Lee wanted to make sure Azula knew that. Knew that her childhood hadn’t been fair. Seeing Kiyi’s, even for just a few minutes, had to be an example of this.

“When did you tell me that?” Azula frowned. Ty-Lee’s fingers came up to her forehead, kneading away the crease on her brow.

“You don’t remember, then.” Ty-Lee sighed. “By the turtle duck pond? It was a long time ago, now.”

Recognition flashed over Azula’s features.

_“Azula, stop!”_ _Ty-Lee cried in delight, the at-the-time taller girl grabbing her by the waist and attempting to throw her in the pond. Mai sat at the side, paying no attention to the two of them whatsoever. She’d grown out of playing, apparently, and now spent her days going through books and sharpening knives. Both Azula and Ty-Lee didn’t mind, though, because they had each other. They’d always have each other._

_“Never!” Azula yelled. “I have to do this for the honour and dignity of my family, of my blood, and my ancestors! For me to fulfil the divine right I have been bestowed, for me to be Firelord, you must perish!”_

_She was six years of age._

_And with that speech, she threw a squealing Ty-Lee into the pond. Luckily, there weren’t any birds resting there at the time. They usually fled when they saw Azula emerging from the manor anyway. One too many stones thrown at them. Ty-Lee emerged a second later, soaked, a strand of seaweed stuck to the side of her face. She was wearing an adorable pout, one Azula wanted to paint or write about, but never would (because paint and ink were to be used for the purpose of bettering the nation, not idle fancies like that)._

_“You look awful!” Azula crowed. This deepened Ty-Lee’s pout, and for a second, Azula almost felt bad. That was until she’d grabbed Azula by the ankle and hoisted her to the edge of the water. For a second, Azula balanced on the edge, deciding whether or not she would let Ty-Lee pull her in as well. It might be fun, she considered, but it would almost certainly get her in trouble with her mother. If anything, that sealed the deal. She toppled into the water headfirst._

_The water wasn’t that deep. Only a few metres of depth, perhaps less. Azula had always known how to swim – she assumed she’d been taught as a baby, or a young toddler, probably when they stayed at Ember island – so, an idea springing to mind, she swam to the bottom of the small body of water and looked up. The water stung her eyes, but she kept them prised open. She watched as Ty-Lee’s thrashing became a little stressed, before the girl started frantically kicking her legs, an unconscious reaction to worry. Azula wasn’t sure how long she could hold her breath for. This was a fun game._

_After a minute, though, her lungs started to burn. Ty-Lee had ducked her head under the water numerous times, but since she hadn’t opened her eyes, she had no idea if Azula was there or not._

_Azula emerged from the water, to reveal a crying Ty-Lee. She looked awful, her face blotched with tears and snot. Even Mai had looked up, concerned. Azula smiled deviously._

_“You’re okay!” Ty-Lee cried, throwing herself into Azula’s arms. Mai rolled her eyes, obviously aware that Azula had been faking it, but was either unbothered or simply too lazy to reveal the truth._

_“Yes, I’m quite fine.” Azula said._

_“You scared me so much.” Ty-Lee whispered._

_“Fear is good.” Azula said. It was something her father had said to her once. Sometimes when she repeated it in front of her mother, she’d look angry and scared, so she tried to say it as much as she possibly could. “Fear is how you control others.”_

_Ty-Lee didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?” She asked. “Where did you hear that?”_

_Azula began to guide them both to the pond’s small shoreline. Ty-Lee’s hands were smaller than hers, and she liked to hold them._

_“Don’t your parents tell you stories before bed?” Azula demanded, helping Ty-Lee out of the pond carefully. “They’re meant to. If they don’t, tell me, and I will report them.”_

_“R-Report them?” Ty-Lee stammered, before smiling nervously. “Azula, you don’t need to do that. They tell me stories. A lot of stories, actually. I don’t like them at all. They’re all so completely miserable.”_

_Azula looked back at her, once they’d both got out, and frowned._

_“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ty-Lee asked._

_“You don’t like them?” She couldn’t understand that. When her father deigned to tell her a story, that would be the highlight of her day. Perhaps it wasn’t the stories Ty-Lee didn’t like, but since she always had someone to tell them to her, she didn’t understand how precious they were. That must have been it. Azula always found the content of the stories riveting._

_“I only like the nice ones.” Ty-Lee said. “The ones that are cute and fun.”_

_“Cute and fun?” Azula wrinkled her nose. “The stories are meant to teach you lessons, and prepare you to be a citizen of the fire nation.”_

_“You don’t get fun stories?” Ty-Lee asked._

_Azula folded her arms. “Definitely not.”_

_“Well, why not?” Ty-Lee looked up at the bright blue sky. The sun felt good against her skin. It felt like summer. She wondered how many summers she’d have left with Azula, before the girl was completely consumed with her father’s ways. She wondered if she’d stick by Azula then. She was sure she would, she just wasn’t sure if she’d like it. “Everyone deserves happy stories too, you know?”_

_“Do they.” Azula said flatly. It wasn’t a question. More like a passing statement to end the conversation._

_“Yes, Azula, they do!” Ty-Lee insisted, grabbing Azula by the hand. “Especially you.”_

_Azula grunted, taking her hand away. “Don’t be ridiculous. Isn’t it almost time that you went home? I have training after this and I don’t want to be late. One of these days, I’m going to show my father my firebending. Then everyone will know.”_

_“Know what?” Ty-Lee asked._

_“What my destiny is.” Azula replied simply. “My divine right.”_

_Ty-Lee hadn’t known what that meant, but she did know that she was scared of her friend, but more than that, scared_ for _her friend. Terribly, desperately scared for her friend._

“I can’t believe I pushed you into that pond.” Azula muttered, looking at her hands with contempt. They were sat on a twin bed in a spare room. If she was honest, Ty-Lee wasn’t sure that Ursa would even have a spare room. Ty-Lee rolled her eyes at her fiancé, taking the hands and kissing them.

“You’ve done much worse than that.” Ty-Lee said gently. “Also, you pushed me into that pond _all the time._ That was not a one time thing.”

Azula looked perturbed. “I did?”

“Mhm. But don’t worry. You know what they say.” Ty-Lee grinned cheekily. “Boys pull girls’ pigtails because they like them. You pushed me into a pond, because you liked me. It’s the same thing.”

Azula looked even more perturbed. “People say that?”

Ty-Lee laughed, leaning against Azula’s side. She could feel the tension seeping off of her, and frowned. “Azula, I’m not mad, you know?”

“You should be.”

“Mm.” Ty-Lee agreed. “But we’re still getting married, aren’t we? And we’re still in love. And today you saw your mother and sister for the first time in years, and I think that that’s more important than you running off because of a bad memory. You’ll need to apologise to Aohi though. He’s just started attending those lessons.” Ty-Lee chuckled.

“Okay, I will.” Azula whispered.

Ty-Lee sighed, leaning up and kissing her on the cheek. She still looked distressed. Ty-Lee went through the options of things she could do to cheer her up. Sex wasn’t on the table (well, it was a couple of days ago, literally, but since they were in her mother’s house, it clearly wasn’t the right time). They couldn’t make much noise either, which didn’t leave her with many other options (since that meant no pillow fighting or hide and seek).

“Hey, Ty-Lee.” Azula whispered. “Do you maybe… Do you maybe want to get married tomorrow?”

“Hm?” Ty-Lee must have misheard her.

“I know… I know it’s sudden.” Suddenly, a fire had been lit in Azula’s eyes. She turned to Ty-Lee and clasped her hands in hers. “But I want to do this. I don’t want to go another day with you as my fiancé. Be my wife tomorrow.”

Ty-Lee felt her mouth splutter on its own, her eyes widening in shock. She hadn’t seen _that_ coming.

A lifetime, _her_ lifetime, all her years so far, played before her. She was meeting Azula, playing with Azula. Soon, she was dancing and laughing with Azula, and even sooner kissing her. Then there was no Azula, and her pinkness faded and her heart ached but she kept going, hoping at the very least to be a good bride’s maid to her. After that was comforting Azula, who had lost everything. Going to the academy with Azula. Watching Azula date everything with a vagina, waiting for her to come back to her. And then she had. And then they were in love, and Ty-Lee had been pink again.

It seemed like Azula needed her, but Ty-Lee had always needed Azula just as much. They were built into each other. Ty-Lee was sure if you inspected her DNA, you’d find blue fire burning along the edges.

“Okay.” She whispered. Azula was kissing her before she’d finished talking. “I’ll be your wife tomorrow.”

The wedding was small and comfortable, and Azula knew this was what she wanted. As a child, the idea of a big wedding had always appealed to her – of being the centre of attention, wearing the most beautiful dress in the room, dancing before hundreds of people. When she’d first planned her wedding, she had really been planning the equivalent of an extravagant birthday party, but with different customs. This was different.

This was about the love they shared.

“I shall now start the ritual.” The man said. He was a peasant from the small, seashore town, but apparently he was ordained. Ty-Lee had asked if Azula wanted to invite Zuko, but she thought that one family member would be more than enough, so it just ended up being her mother present.

“ _Besides.” She’d said. “It will be hilarious when we return married. Zuko will lose what’s left of his mind.”_

_“…Azula.”_

If she’d known, however, that her mother intended to sob throughout the entire ceremony, she would have chosen to not have a single member of her family present. Ty-Lee seemed happy about her decision, though, so Azula could hardly find it in herself to be _too_ annoyed at her hysteric mother. Though she was a little.

The small town’s chapel went largely unused, since the population consisted of those that worshipped the spirits rather than the Fire Nation, but it was still us _able_ , which was what mattered. Azula stared at the eyes of the red ceramic dragon, the one that watched the ceremony, and found herself smiling.

“I doubt this dragon was made with the intention of watching a royal wedding.” Azula hummed. Ty-Lee’s hand squeezed her own. They were sat at the front of the chapel, waiting for when they could officially be wife and wife.

 _Wife._ Azula liked the sound of that.

“The dragon is almost the luckiest in the room, then.” Ty-Lee whispered back, unable to stop herself from pressing another kiss to Azula’s cheek (which made her mother cry even more, which Azula thought was quite ridiculous at that point).

“Almost?”

“Well, after me and you of course.” Ty-Lee smiled cheesily, and Azula rolled her eyes (though she was unable to entirely repress the small smile growing on her lips).

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And you love me.”

Azula turned to the girl she’d loved since she was a child, before she’d even known what love was. Before she’d had everything taken from her. Before she’d lost the world and gained it all back again. It was like looking at her roots and into her future at the same time.

“And I love you.” She confirmed, and Ty-Lee’s eyes welled up. Azula kissed away the tears.

“Would you like to read your vows?” The man taking the ceremony asked.

Azula stood up first. “Yes. Thank you.”

The man bowed respectfully, and Azula took centre stage. It wasn’t a traditional service, or the type she’d seen in those American films her brother liked from the mortal realm, but it was something they’d figured out the night before, and it worked for them, which made it even better than anything she’d ever planned.

“I am not the best person in the world.” Azula began, and almost laughed because of the stark and obvious honesty behind those words. “Not by a long shot. And I’ve made mistakes. Too many to name, but the right amount to regret. But if there’s one thing that I would never, ever change about my life, it would be the journey I had, coming together with Ty-Lee. I love her. It’s easy enough to say, and it’s hard to prove, but I’ve never loved anything in my life how I love her.”

It was odd talking to a near-empty room. It almost felt like Azula was addressing her mother, so she switched the focus of her vows to Ty-Lee.

“You were the happiest child in the academy. The only one I really wanted to be friends with, though you mustn’t tell Mai that.” Azula couldn’t help but smile at the way Ty-Lee laughed. “And so I became your friend, and I didn’t realise for the longest time that it wasn’t entirely normal for a _friend_ to make you so happy. And then I did. After that, there were ups and downs. More downs than I would ever wish for you, really, but you loved me regardless. Oh, well, I suppose you beat me to the point. That’s what I meant to say from the start. I’ll love you regardless.” She hadn’t planned to fumble the vows, and she could feel her cheeks heating up.

“It doesn’t matter what happens, if it’s you, then it’s love. You are love. You’re the love I’ve always known, and the love I always wish to know.” She coughed at her own softness, because _really?_ But Ty-Lee was staring at her with such big, beautiful eyes, that Azula couldn’t stop.

“So, vows aren’t just sentiments. They’re promises, too. And so I vow to protect you, firstly. That is one thing I am confident I can always do. Even when you’re on your dangerous missions, my prayers will be there alongside you, and if they fail then I will be the next to leave the palace. Protection I can do. Honesty I can strive for… You make me _want_ to strive for it. You make me want to be good. For you, I will heal. For myself, and for you. Most importantly, for us.”

Ty-Lee sprang up and threw her arms around Azula’s small frame. “I love you.” She whispered hotly in her ear. “I love you, I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

Azula smiled fondly at the ground. “I know, my love.”

“Ahem. Ty-Lee? I take it you would like to speak as well?” The man gestured awkwardly to the front of the room.

“Ah, yes.” Ty-Lee smiled. She took to the front, and to Azula’s surprise, she turned to the oldest woman in the room, rather than the one she was going to marry. “I’d like to start by addressing Ursa.”

The woman perked up, her face red and soppy and disgusting. Azula wrinkled her nose, but continued to listen with interest.

“Firstly, thank you for creating Azula.” Ty-Lee grinned to herself. “Really good job on that one. ‘Specially the face.”

Ursa laughed pleasantly, and Azula found herself biting back her own unbecoming giggle.

“But also thank you for letting me come over to play so many times, when I was little. And letting Azula come to mine. Thank you for letting me switch classes into Azula’s class, because I didn’t want to be away from her. Thank you for calling the school and asking them to let us share a dorm, when my parents said it didn’t matter. Your relationship with my soon-to-be wife might be, uh, complicated...” She paused, but Azula nodded her the all-clear. “But I would like you to know that even if you weren’t the mother you wanted to be for her, you gave me room to love her. Maybe the past can’t be changed, but I don’t think it’s all bad. And, so,” She giggled nervously. “My first vow is actually to you, Ursa.”

Ursa let out a wail. Azula rolled her eyes.

“I vow to take care of your daughter.” Ty-Lee’s eyes were twinkling. “For the rest of our lives.”

“Thank you.” Ursa said through her sniffles.

“As for Azula.” Ty-Lee turned to her. “I vow to love you as I always have. No matter what you do, no matter where you run off to or who you hurt, I will love you. It doesn’t mean I’ll stand by you, but I think at this point, it’s been established that there isn’t any _not_ loving you for me.”

Azula shook her head.

“I know you think me a fool.” She laughed. “When you make that face. But I’m a fool for you. An idiot.”

“Don’t speak of yourself like that.” Azula said, almost sharply, and Ty-Lee’s smile grew.

“There’s a bunch of other vows, too. These are just… Well, I’ll just say them.” She giggled. “I vow to put you to bed whenever you fall asleep on the couch. I vow to give you bad haircuts whenever you need one. I vow to remind you to water your plants, and to always boil the water so you can make the tea. We’re a team, now. Just us two. I vow to be the best teammate a girl could want.”

Azula smiled, and Ty-Lee sat down next to her, resting her head on her _almost_ wife’s shoulder.

“You’re already the best teammate a girl could want.” Azula told her quietly, as the man at the front of the chapel began to start the ritual.

“Then I vow to keep it up.”

The man finished the ritual with the red wax (that symbolised the string of fate in the fire nation) burning on his thumb, and walked over to the two girls.

“Last chance to back out.” He said teasingly.

“Wife me.” Azula snapped, and he pressed the wax lightly to her hand, and then to Ty-Lee’s.

“You may join hands.” He said. “And become wife and wife.”

They did so, and they’d never felt more alive.

Ursa came up to them and hugged them both. She’d calmed down at least, though there was still a substantial amount of bodily fluid on her face. Azula scowled at her, but let her hug her anyway (and she might, just _might_ have hugged her back a small amount). Then, Ursa leant into Ty-Lee’s side and whispered something in her ear, that made her smile proudly.

“What did she say?” Azula asked, once her mother had gone.

“Well, _wife,_ ” The word sounded like electricity itself. Azula would have to try it out later. “She told me that I’d always been the one looking after you. And that she had complete trust in me.”

“Couldn’t she just have said that aloud then?” Azula grumbled.

“Well, honey.” Ty-Lee kissed Azula’s cheek as the two began to walk from the chapel. “You’re already the colour of a strawberry. I’m not sure she wanted to make it worse.”

A week passed, and Azula had never been so happy. She was back to training Aohi, who was very apologetic about his comment that had triggered Azula, and Zuko hadn’t been half as surprised as she’d thought he’d be, which clearly meant that Ursa had tipped him off. Nevertheless, for the first time in forever, she was happy.

“I love you.” Ty-Lee whispered against her lips. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“I just got home.” Azula snickered, and Ty-Lee pulled back. She was wearing a white crop top and shorts, her usual braid tied into a bun onto her head.

“Fine.” She pouted, turning away from her. “Then I don’t love you.”

“Hey!” Azula cried, grabbing her wife by the waist and pulling her towards her. “Not so fast, you.”

Ty-Lee giggled, trying to escape her grip, but Azula’s hands were too strong. There was a brief scuffle at the door, hands flying, an unnecessary amount of skin being grabbed, before Ty-Lee found herself pressed against the floor, Azula staring down at her with sheer adoration.

“I love you too.” She said, leaning down and kissing Ty-Lee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i hope that was happy enough for you. just a bit of a tyzula update for those that miss them in wlf
> 
> (for reference for future readers, im writing this after chapter 41 of when language fails)
> 
> they will be returning to the main story very soon though!! i actually have a lot planned for the main story coming this year, and there are a few tyzula bump-ins (think accidental double date shenanigans and beach episode-inspired shenanigans), and Aohi will also be appearing in the main story. link below in case u stumbled on this fic without reading when language fails first :)
> 
> [When Language Fails](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560845/chapters/59313433)
> 
> and for other writing news/updates as well as direct access to my fics, here's my tumblr:
> 
> [my tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bisexualyoda1)


End file.
